OrensteinSolutions

About Dr. Julia Messer

Welcome to Orenstein Solutions and thank you for taking the time to learn about me and my work.

Education and Training:

Dr. Messer earned a B.A. in Psychology and English with teacher licensure from Maryville College, and a M.S.and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from West Virginia University. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at Eastern Virginia Medical School in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

She has advanced training in the following areas:

• Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
• Suicide Risk Assessment
• Violence Risk Assessment
• Forensic Evaluations
• Psychological Assessments

Clinical Experience:

Dr. Messer recently joined Orenstein Solutions, after working as a Clinical Assistant Professor at UNC, Chapel Hill. Her clinical work involved behavioral evaluations and interventions, psychological assessments, treatment planning, and individual and group therapy at an inpatient psychiatric hospital. Group therapy topics included anger management, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), competency to stand trial restoration, and community re-entry. She also taught an undergraduate psychology course at UNC.

Dr. Messer has experience working in a variety of settings, including forensic units at inpatient hospitals, a minimum security federal prison for the drug abuse program, university and medical center outpatient clinics, and an adolescent substance abuse rehabilitation center. She has also conducted psychological assessments at a juvenile detention center and forensic evaluations at a private practice and in hospital settings. Dr. Messer has provided skill-development groups that address managing anger, parenting skills, substance abuse, and healthy coping.

Dr. Messer has published research in multiple peer-reviewed scholarly journals, including Clinical Psychology Review, Depression and Anxiety, Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, and Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. Research topics have included adolescent self-mutilation, forensic assessment, and psychological assessment. She also assisted in the development of suicide risk assessment protocols for adolescents and adults, which have been published in Innovations in Clinical Practice. Dr. Messer has been co-presenter for workshops on the assessment of adolescent and adult depression, which were presented to state mental health workers in West Virginia.

Prior to graduate school, Dr. Messer taught high school English for four years at Oak Ridge High School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. She obtained experience working with Individualized Education Plans and served on a committee that targeted identification of and assistance to at-risk teens.

Professional Development:

Dr. Messer works to continually develop her clinical skills and remain current with clinical research. She is involved in continuing education and actively pursues obtaining information about empirically supported treatments and assessments. She maintains membership in the following professional organizations:

• American Psychological Association
• North Carolina Psychological Association
• American Psychology-Law Society

Specialties:

Dr. Messer provides consultation, assessment, and therapy services for a broad range of concerns facing teens, young adults, and adults. She specializes in:

• Anger Management
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Substance Abuse
• Stress Management
• Family / Relationship Issues
• Forensic Assessment
• Pre-surgical Bariatric Evaluations
• Psychological Assessment

About Her:

In her free time, Dr. Messer enjoys hiking, reading, traveling, biking, going to concerts and movies, and spending time with friends and family.