Dr. Heather Robbins is widely recognized by her peers as a uniquely gifted therapist. She is known for her genuine warmth and compassion, while also holding firm boundaries with her clients and expecting them to fully engage in the process. Heather is tough when she needs to be tough, providing clear and concrete guidance where needed, without being judgmental or condescending.
She does not rely on easy, “feel good” clichés or cookie cutter recipes for change. Heather is open and honest with her clients, even when this means directly challenging their core beliefs and deeply ingrained habits.
Dr. Robbins utilizes a number of treatment methods with her clients, as not everyone responds equally to the same approach. Many clients benefit from Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT uses systematic, goal-oriented techniques to examine the client’s unwanted habits of thinking, feeling and doing. Heather has trained extensively in cognitive-behavioral therapy. Dr. Robbins incorporates the latest mindfulness practices when appropriate, providing clients with a solid “take home” strategy to better navigate their daily lives. Some clients benefit from a family systems or psychodynamic framework to treatment. These approaches explore the personality in depth, with a focus on how relationship patterns learned in the past may limit the individual’s present life experience.
Dr. Robbins welcomes direct feedback from her clients, as she feels the therapy process is different for every person, and needs to be regularly re-evaluated by both therapist and client as treatment progresses.
Heather treats patients for a variety of issues, but she primarily specializes in:
“I believe that therapy can facilitate profound results when both therapist and client allow their authentic selves to “show up.” It’s about being honest and open, even though that can be difficult at times.”
Heather Robbins
Education & Professional Background
Dr. Heather Robbins earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. She is originally from Austin, Texas, where she spent her undergraduate years studying psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. After completing her undergraduate psychology degree with honors in only two-and-a-half years, Dr. Robbins lived abroad in France, Greece and Japan before beginning her graduate studies at UTSW.
In addition to her graduate coursework, Heather completed internships at Terrell State Hospital, Parkland Memorial Hospital, the Eugene McDermott Center for Pain Management and other local institutions. After earning her Ph.D., Heather completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Dallas Group Analytic Practice.
A leader in her field, Dr. Robbins is an expert source for local and national publications, including Cosmopolitan magazine and The Dallas Morning News. Her academic work has been published in many prestigious trade journals such as Anethesia & Analgesia and the Clinical Journal of Pain. Heather has appeared on numerous radio programs, including The Ankarlo Monring Show, Good Day Dallas Fox 4 and San Francisco’s syndicated KCBS.
