BIO: Dr. Byars was born and raised in Georgia. She came to North Carolina for college and fell in love with the state. After completing her doctoral degree in New York City and post-doctoral training in Ontario, she was lucky enough to return to North Carolina to put down roots. When not in the office, Dr. Byars enjoys discovering new hikes, traveling, trying new creativity-focused hobbies (current hobbies include painting and crafting), and spending time with her husband, daughter, and their pets.

 

TRAINING: Dr. Byars completed her undergraduate degree with honors in Psychology at Davidson College here in North Carolina. She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from CUNY's Graduate Center. During her time in graduate school, Dr. Byars obtained expertise in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), particularly with young adults (18-30). She completed her pre-doctoral internship in a large, public hospital system (St. Joseph's Healthcare in Hamilton, ON) where she received dual specializations in mood dysregulation and unusual experiences (e.g., psychotic symptoms). During her postdoctoral training, Dr. Byars continued her training in DBT and also received specialized training and supervision in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) with individuals with traumatic experiences and PTSD. Beginning in her post-doctoral training and continuing into early career, Dr. Byars received training in mindful self-compassion approaches to address perfectionism, anxiety, and shame. She has extensive expertise in conceptualizing and addressing difficulties related to shame, particularly where shame prevents individuals from engaging with or completing evidence-based treatments. 

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EXPERTISE: Dr. Byars has expertise in mood disturbance, with particular interest in mood dysregulation (moods that are intense and shift quickly), which includes borderline personality disorder. As part of this expertise, she treats self-injury, suicidality, and traumatic experiences, which may co-occur with mood disturbance. Dr. Byars also has expertise in unusual experiences within the context of mood or anxiety episodes (e.g., hearing voices, paranoia, or dissociation). She has a particular passion for working with individuals struggling with perfectionism, self-criticism, and shame. Dr. Byars enjoys working with clients to compassionately understand their own emotions, communicate them effectively to others, and develop skills to increase their emotional resilience, particularly within the context of shame. 

 

Dr. Byars serves as TAP's Director of Training and oversees TAP's programs that supervise early career therapists. This includes running TAP's postdoctoral fellowship program.

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EVIDENCE-BASED THERAPIES OFFERED: DBT, Self-compassion Informed Therapy, CBT, Trauma Therapies

          

POPULATIONS SERVED: Dr. Byars sees adults (ages 18+) in both individual and group therapy.  She is the developer of the Emotional Resiliency Group and often serves as a co-lead in either DBT or ER groups. 

Dr. Byars does not see children or adolescents and does not do couples or family work.