She received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Georgia and a terminal Master’s Degree in clinical health psychology from Appalachian State University before moving to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to earn her doctorate in clinical psychology at Louisiana State University. She completed pre-doctoral internship at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University/Charlie Norwood Veteran Affairs Medical Center on the Psychology of Women track with an emphasis on trauma-focused treatment. She returned to North Carolina for a postdoctoral fellowship at the Durham Veteran Affairs Medical Center, with a split emphasis on Behavioral Medicine and Primary Care Mental Health Integration.