Ashley J. Britton, PhD
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
600 Moye Boulevard, Mail Stop 694
Greenville, NC 27834
Phone: 252-744-1406
Fax: 252-744-2419
Email: brittona19@ecu.edu
Faculty Rank: Clinical Assistant Professor
Education and Training
University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
Aug 2005 – Dec 2008
B.A., Psychology (University Honors Program)
Major: Psychology Minor: Spanish
University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida
Aug 2010 – Aug 2012
M.S.Ed., Counseling
Major: Mental Health Counseling Track, (CACREP accredited)
University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
Aug 2012 – Aug 2017
Ph.D., Counseling Psychology
Major: Counseling Psychology (APA accredited), Health Psychology track
Henry Ford Health System, APA accredited, Detroit, Michigan
Jul 2016 – Jun 2017
Clinical Psychology Internship
Track: Health Psychology
Rotations: Consultation and Liaison, Outpatient Therapy, and Transplant Surgery
Hospitals/Clinics: Henry Ford Hospital and One Ford Place Outpatient Clinic<
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), APA accredited, Charleston, South Carolina
Aug 2017 – Aug 2018
Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship
Concentration: Behavioral Medicine, Pre-Surgical Evaluations (Transplant, Bariatric, Spinal Cord Stimulator, Total Pancreatectomy), Individual Therapy (chronic pain, cardiac/ pulmonary rehab, CF, psycho-oncology, health promotion), ACT Group Therapy in the Pain Rehabilitation Program
Licensure, Certification, and Professional Affiliations
- NC Licensed Psychologist & Health Services Provider
- American Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (ACLP)
- American Psychological Association (APA)
- Southeastern Psychological Association (SEPA)
- Eastern Area Health Education Center (Eastern AHEC)
Clinical Practice
Inpatient psychological consultations for behavioral management of medical conditions on the Consultation-Liaison service (e.g., traumatic injury/response, surgery, cancer, complex medical course/prolonged hospitalization); psychological evaluation on BHU and outpatient clinic; individual and group cognitive-behavioral and acceptance-based interventions for health behavior change, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, complex health issues and insomnia.
Teaching and Supervision
- Instructor, PGY-2 Beginning & Supportive Psychotherapy Seminar
- Instructor, PGY-3 Advanced Psychotherapy Seminar
- Guest Lecturer & Small Group Leader, M-1 Behavioral Science Course
- Clinical Instructor, M-2 Basic Psychiatry Course (standardized patient evaluator)
- Supervisor, PhD Student Health Psychology Practicum
- Supervisor, Greenville VA Health Care Center Psychology Internship Program
Research Interests
Cultural and social factors in health behavior change, chronic illness, and psychopathology; Health literacy and numeracy on health outcomes; Impact of pre-surgical quality of life and social support on post-surgical outcomes; Social support and self-efficacy on health outcomes; Quality of life of chronic pain and headaches/migraines; Ethnic disparities in physical and mental health and implicit provider biases; Medical education in psychiatry/ behavioral medicine.
Selected Publications and Manuscripts in Progress
- Britton, A. (2020). Managing Cognitive Dissonance and Self-Justification in Counseling Settings. In D. A. Kleiber & E. Delgado-Romero (Eds.), Social Psychology and Counseling: Issues and Applications (pp. ii-275). Hauppenaug, NY: Nova Science.
- Davantes-Heckman, B. & Britton, A. (2015). Headache in African Americans: An overlooked disparity. Journal of the National Medical Association, 107(2), 39-45.
- Britton, A., Davantes-Heckman, B., and Matero, L. A cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) depression intervention in persons with co-occurring chronic migraines: A randomized clinical pilot efficacy trial. Unpublished manuscript, University of Georgia, Athens, GA. [preparing for submission].
Selected Presentations and Posters
- Britton, A. Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders: Classification, Diagnosis and Treatment. Presentation at Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Interdisciplinary Behavioral Medicine Seminar, March 2018.
- Britton, A. Chronic Opioid Treatment in Liver Transplant Patients: Considerations for Post-Transplant Chronic Pain Management. Case Presentation at Henry Ford Health System Psychology Pre-Doctoral Internship Multidisciplinary Case Presentation, June 2017.
- Britton, A. Considerations & Difficulties of Treating Mandated Domestic Violence Patients in Outpatient Therapy Settings. Case Presentation at Henry Ford Health System Psychology Pre-Doctoral Internship Multidisciplinary Case Presentation, March 2017.
- Britton, A. Conversion Disorder/Functional Neurological Disorders and Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures. Case Presentation at Henry Ford Health System Psychology Pre-Doctoral Internship Multidisciplinary Case Presentation, October 2016.
- Britton, A., Grimes, T., Weaver, J.N., Blizzard, J. & Heckman, B. Examination of the Psychosocial Impact of Headache Disability and Psychiatric Comorbidity in a College Sample. Poster submitted to the 2014 Society of Counseling Psychology (APA Division 17) Student Poster Session of the American Psychological Association Convention, Washington, DC, August 2014.
- Britton, A., Grimes, T., Weaver, J.N., Blizzard, J. & Heckman, B. Examination of the Psychosocial Impact of Headache Disability and Psychiatric Comorbidity in a College Sample. Poster presented at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Georgia Psychological Association, Athens, GA, May 2014.
- Britton, A., Grimes, T., Weaver, J.N., & Heckman, B. Health Disparities: Headache, HIV/AIDS, and Childhood Obesity. Symposium presented at the 60th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Nashville, TN, March 2014.
- Khorana, N., Hubbard, A., Fatemi, A., Britton, A., Grimes, T., Blizzard, J., Weaver, J.N. & Heckman, B. The efficacy of tele-psychotherapy: Reducing depressive symptoms in older adults living with HIV/AIDS. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the APA Division 17 Counseling Psychology Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, March 2014.
- Heckman, B., Hubbard, A., Britton, A., Weaver, J.N., Grimes, T., Blizzard, J., & Khorana, N. Complementary Alternative Medicines, Chronic Pain, and HIV: An Introduction. Presentation at 2013 AIDS Athens Fall Thrive Event, October 2013.
- Conner, A., Khorana, N., Scott, C., Britton, A., & Stewart, A. Weather-Related Stress and Anxiety in a National Sample of Adults. Poster presentation at the 59th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Atlanta, Georgia, March 2013.