Samantha Hellberg, PhD

I am a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of Washington and am authorized by PSYPACT to provide virtual care in 40+ states. In addition to my work at Root & Bloom Wellness, I serve as the Associate Director of the Marsha M. Linehan DBT Clinic at the University of Washington.

I specialize in emotion-related concerns–with a focus on anxiety, stress, obsessive-compulsive, trauma/PTSD, grief, and emotion dysregulation. I have expertise in reproductive psychology and work with individuals experiencing concerns related to the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, postpartum, perinatal loss, infertility, and other reproductive stressors. I have over 7 years of experience and have provided individual, couples, and group therapy in various settings (e.g., outpatient clinic, intensive outpatient program, inpatient psychiatric unit, primary care). My orientation is cognitive-behavioral and I have pursued training in various evidence-based approaches, including comprehensive Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), DBT Prolonged Exposure (DBT PE), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP), Integrative Behavioral Couples Therapy (IBCT), Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD.

I completed my PhD with Dr. Jon Abramowitz–an internationally recognized expert in anxiety and OCD–and reproductive psychology experts at the world-renowned UNC Center for Women’s Mood Disorders. Then, I completed my predoctoral internship and advanced fellowship in DBT at the Seattle VA with Dr. Melanie Harned, an expert in DBT and the developer of the DBT PE for PTSD protocol and DBT Adherence Checklist for Individual Therapy (DBT AC-I). I was have demonstrated adherence in my delivery of DBT/DBT PE and fidelity to gold-standard raters of therapy adherence for DBT, DBT PE, and PE.

My ultimate aim is to increase access to effective, compassionate care. In line with this goal, I also provide professional consultation, training, and adherence coding services. I am also passionate about enhancing clinician wellbeing and love to work with healthcare providers in my clinical and professional practice.

My Education

I completed a 1 year fellowship in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) under the mentorship of Dr. Melanie Harned, the creator of the DBT Prolonged Exposure (DBT PE) protocol for PTSD. During my fellowship, I received advanced training and supervision in DBT and DBT PE, while contributing to clinician education, consultation, and research efforts at the Seattle VA.
I completed my 1 year Predoctoral Internship in Clinical Psychology at the Seattle VA. During internship, I received advanced training and supervision, with an emphasis on couples therapy, trauma-focused treatment, intensive outpatient services, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
I completed my Masters and PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill under the mentorship of Dr. Jonathan Abramowitz, where my training emphasized research and clinical care for anxiety, trauma, and obsessive-compulsive related conditions. Throughout my training, I also completed research and clinical training in reproductive mental health with the UNC Center for Women’s Mood Disorders, under the mentorship of Drs. Crystal Schiller and Tiffany Hopkins.
For two years, I served as the Program Coordinator for the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Anxiety & Traumatic Stress Disorders (CATSD) and Complicated and Grief Program.
I began my training in psychology at Wesleyan University, where I graduated with University Honors and High Honors in Psychology.

Selected Trainings & Certifications

40-Hour Foundational Training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

Behavioral Tech; Katie Dixon-Gordon, PhD & Sami Saghafi, PsyD
4-Day DBT-Prolonged Exposure (DBT PE) for PTSD Intensive

Melanie Harned, PhD, & Annie McCall, MA
3-Day Getting to Adherence in Dialectical Behavior Therapy Workshop

Melanie Harned, PhD & Sara Schmidt, PhD
Assessing and Treating Race-Based Traumatic Invalidation

Melanie Harned, PhD & Natalia Garcia, PhD
Troubleshooting Lack of Improvement in DBT PE

Melanie Harned, PhD
Prolonged Grief Disorder Therapy Principles & Procedure

The Center for Prolonged Grief; M. Katherine Shear, MD & Danielle Glorioso, LCSW