BIO: Dr. Ritschel has lived all over the east coast of the US and spent most of her formative years in Atlanta, GA. When not in the office, Dr. Ritschel enjoys running, biking, cooking, and spending time with her husband and two young daughters. She is an avid college sports fan.

 

TRAINING: Dr. Ritschel completed her undergraduate degrees in Psychology and French at the University of Georgia. She spent a year studying French Literature in Lyon, France and received an advanced degree from the Université de Lyon. She received her master’s and doctoral degrees in Clinical Psychology from the University of Kansas, where she studied the role of positive psychology (mindfulness and hope) in psychological disorders and healing. Dr. Ritschel completed her internship at Duke University Medical Center, and she completed postdoctoral fellowships at Duke and Emory University School of Medicine. She is a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, where she works closely with the UNC TEACCH Autism program to adapt DBT for autistic adolescents and adults. Dr. Ritschel has published numerous papers and book chapters and has presented her work at national and international conferences. She is the recipient of numerous teaching awards from the UNC Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry.

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EXPERTISE: Dr. Ritschel is a co-owner of the TAP Clinic and is the Director of the adolescent DBT program. Dr. Ritschel also oversees all community trainings provided by the TAP Clinic. Dr. Ritschel is a nationally recognized expert in DBT and has particular expertise in DBT with adolescents as well as in the combined DBT + Prolonged Exposure protocol (DBT-PE) for individuals with significant emotion regulation difficulties and PTSD. She treats individuals with mood disturbance (including major depression and bipolar disorder), anxiety and stress, traumatic experiences, suicidality and self-injury, borderline personality disorder, and behavioral impulsivity. Dr. Ritschel has received expert-level training in CBT, Behavioral Activation (BA), Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Mindful Self-Compassion. Dr. Ritschel is a member of our Behavioral Parent Training program, and she works with individuals interested in personal flourishing through the building of mindfulness skills and hope (i.e., goal-based thinking, positive self-talk, and problem solving skills). 

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EVIDENCE-BASED THERAPIES OFFERED: DBT, CBT, Behavioral Activation (BA), Trauma Therapies, Behavioral parent training

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POPULATIONS SERVED: 

Dr. Ritschel sees adolescents (ages 12+) and adults for individual psychotherapy. She conducts parenting work as part of our BPT program, and she serves as one of our DBT-A group leaders. 

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