Nicole Weiss, PhD

Psychologist, SHE/HER/HERS

Licensed Clinical Psychologist: Rhode Island (01734), authorized to provide teletherapy in 40 states and District of Columbia through PSYPACT (APIT: 18203)

I am a licensed clinical psychologist with nearly two decades of experience delivering trauma-informed and evidence-based treatments in my work with individuals facing a wide range of problems, including anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress, substance use, and personality disorders. I have a special interest in working with individuals who have lived experiences of trauma. I have expertise in the delivery of evidence-based cognitive-behavioral and acceptance-based treatments, including Prolonged Exposure, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Behavioral Activation.

I am passionate about helping people reduce their emotional suffering and create lives that are filled with meaning, purpose, and joy. My clinical style is a combination of validation, warmth, and humor balanced with problem-solving and skills-based strategies. I leverage best practices in evidence-based treatment, tailored specifically to address the unique concerns of each client, to help them effect lasting, meaningful change in their lives built on skills learned in treatment. I believe that my clients know themselves best, and I partner with them to help them identify and achieve their goals by drawing on their unique strengths and sources of resilience. I approach my clients’ circumstances with compassion, care, and an open mind. I believe that every client is doing the best they can given their lived experiences and resources, and see therapy as a space for growing awareness (“knowing”) and abilities (“doing”) to create a life worth living. I create a warm, respectful, and non-judgmental environment in which my clients feel validated and safe to work through their fears and other difficulties. My aim is to create a space where clients are free to be their authentic selves: a place to be seen, heard, and understood; a place to feel accepted, without fear of judgment; a place where clients realize they aren’t alone.

My passion for serving people with lived experience of trauma extends to all aspects of my professional life. In addition to being a clinician, I am an active researcher, teacher, mentor, and advocate in my role as an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Rhode Island. My research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, and I have published over 200 articles in scientific journals on a variety of topics, including posttraumatic stress, substance use disorders, borderline personality disorder, self-injury, and suicidality. This work aims to generate new knowledge to improve mental health treatment and keeps me informed of best practices.

 

TREATMENT AREAS

  • Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder 

  • Depression

  • Anxiety disorders (including panic disorder and panic attacks, phobias, social anxiety disorder)

  • Borderline personality disorder

  • Substance use 

    and more