About Me
Hello, I’m Heather. I’m so glad you made it here today. Here’s a little bit about me and how I got here.
My academic and career paths haven’t always taken a straight line. That has been by choice, and the combination of my academic training and my life experience makes me uniquely skilled as a therapist.
I grew up in California, in a city where not many high school classmates were on the college track. After college at UCLA, I moved 3000 miles away to complete my Ph.D. at Harvard. In school and afterward, my goal was to obtain as much knowledge and experience as possible, so I said yes to just about everything. I’ve written books for high schoolers about mental health. I’ve spoken at conferences and for parent groups. I have worked in Veterans Administration hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, inpatient and outpatient clinics. I’ve taught at Ivy League schools and community colleges. I have published research. I have worked with families of privilege, and with impoverished and disenfranchised people. With two small children of my own still at home, I accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford Medical School in the Department of Child Psychiatry.
I am not telling you this because I think my training alone makes me a better therapist. It helps, but it’s only a part of the picture.
I tell you all of this because I know what it's like to feel like you don't belong. Moving among so many different situations and environments, I sometimes felt out of place. The more people I knew, the more I wanted to meet. The more I learned, the more questions I had. Finding my passion (being a psychologist!) allowed me to embrace my curiosity and feel at ease in my own skin.
I love my job. I offer thoughtful, individualized and comprehensive psychological evaluations to children, adolescents and young adults. I provide psychotherapy to a limited number of patients, who are looking for a fresh, interactive and interpersonally-oriented therapeutic space to grow their emotional and social selves. I consult with educators, legal professionals and social service organizations to support my patients as needed. If you are interested in getting to know me and my work even better, read on, or reach out via the link below.
Life lessons that guide my work
Adapting to markedly different environments is challenging. People, regardless of ability or background, need to feel understood and valued.
Once you stop working so hard on fitting in, you’ll find it’s easier to be you.
Knowledge is power. Learning about yourself empowers you to understand what drives your behaviors and offers a roadmap for change.
Swallowing anger and other unpleasant emotions make them worse. Acknowledging the emotions you’re feeling will help you manage them in healthy and productive ways.
The unknown, scary life outside your comfort zone is full of magic if you’re willing to explore it.
Let’s Work Together
Training & Experience
+ Credentials
Licensed Psychologist in Massachusetts and Virginia
+ Education
Post-Doctoral Psychology Fellowship, Child and Adolescent
Psychology Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
Post-Doctoral Clinical Psychology Respecialization Fellowship, Clinical Psychology University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Amherst, MA
Ph.D., Psychology Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
BA, Psychology University of California, Los Angeles
+ Experience
2014- 2019 Benton & Veague Psychological Services, Lincoln, MA Licensed Psychologist Provided psychotherapy and neuropsychological and psychological evaluation to children, adolescents and adults with a variety of psychiatric and neurological presentations. Worked closely with school districts, medical professionals and parents to ensure appropriate supports and wrap around services.
2012-2013 Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA Fellow in Child and Adolescent Psychology: Provided psychotherapy, neurodevelopmental and psychological evaluations in anxiety, eating disorders, and autism clinics at Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital.
2011-2012 Albany Medical College, Department of Psychology, Albany, NY Clinical Psychology Intern: Albany Medical College Internship Consortium. Rotations included the Child and Adolescent Service at the Capital District Psychiatric Center (state psychiatric hospital), Samuel Stratton Veteran’s Hospital, and the Albany Medical Center Department of Psychiatry Inpatient Psychiatry Service Duties in all rotations: Provide brief psychotherapeutic interventions, assessment and consultation for acute patients.
2008-2009 Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York Instructor: Taught introductory psychology to undergraduate students Berkshire Community College, Pittsfield, Massachusetts Instructor: Taught introductory psychology to undergraduate students
2009-2010 Kolburne School, New Marlborough, Massachusetts Clinician: Served as primary therapist for adolescent and young adult students. Conducted psychological assessments, provided individual psychotherapy, group psychotherapy and served as a clinical liaison in the classroom and in the students’ residence.
Psychological Services Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Clinician: Served as primary therapist for adolescent and young adult students. Conducted psychological assessments, provided individual psychotherapy, group psychotherapy and provided occasional crisis evaluation and intervention.
2004-2008 Worked as a contract writer and speaker while my children were young. Please see below for detailed publications and presentations.
1997-2004 While a graduate student, I worked as a teaching fellow for courses of introductory psychology and abnormal (clinical) psychology. Beginning in my second year of graduate school I taught Sophomore Tutorial, a writing heavy course for sophomores that serves as a survey of research psychology. Due to my high teaching evaluations I was invited to design and teach my own course, Sex, Gender and the Body. I also taught Methods of Instruction for graduate students, a course that focused on pedagogy. I also supervised a number of independent studies and Senior Honors Theses.
+ Authored Books
Veague, H.B. (2009) Autism, in C. Collins, Ed. Psychological Disorders Series, Chelsea House Publishers: New York.
Baird, A.A., Tugade, M., & Veague, H.B. (Eds). (2008) Current Directions in Introductory Psychology: Readings from the American Psychological Society. Pearson/Prentice Hall: Boston.
Veague, H.B. (2008) Cutting and Self-Abuse, in C. Collins, Ed. Psychological Disorders Series, Chelsea House Publishers: New York.
Veague, H.B. (2007) Schizophrenia, in C. Collins, Ed. Psychological Disorders Series, Chelsea House Publishers: New York.
Veague, H.B. (2007) Personality Disorders, in C. Collins, Ed. Psychological Disorders Series, Chelsea House Publishers: New York.
+ Published Journal Articles
Veague, H. B. & Hooley, J.M. (2014) Enhanced sensitivity and response bias for male anger in women with borderline personality disorder. Psychiatry Research, Vol 215 (3), 687-693.
Ready, R. E., & Veague, H. B. (2014) Training in psychological assessment: Current practices of clinical psychology programs. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice Vol 45 (4), 278-282.
Baird, A.A., Silver, S., & Veague, H.B. (2010). Cognitive control reduces sensitivity to relational aggression. Social Neuroscience, 6, 1-14.
Janis, I.B., Veague, H.B., & Driver-Linn, E. (2006). Possible Selves and Borderline Personality Disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 62(3), 387-394.
Baird, A.A., Veague, H.B., & Rabbitt, C.E. (2005). Developmental precipitants of borderline personality disorder, Developmental Psychopathology, 17(4), 1031-1049.
Barnett (Veague), H. B., Keel, P.K., & Conoscenti, L.M. (2001). Body type preferences in college students. Sex Roles, 45(11-12), 867-878.
Cooper, L., Liberman, D., Tucker, D., Neuchterlein, K. H., Tsuang, J., & Barnett (Veague), H. L. (1999). Neurocognitive deficits in the dually diagnosed with schizophrenia and cocaine abuse. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Skills, 3(2), 231-245. (15.8)
+ Presentations
Veague, H.B. (April, 2008). Invited speaker at the International Brain, Learning & Applications Institute. Frankfurt, Germany. Topics include: 1) Adolescent Sexuality: The Elephant in the Classroom. 2) Whatever!: An Evolutionary Approach to the Teen Brain. 3) Adolescent Mental Illness: Starts and Stops.
Veague, H.B. (August, 2007). Keynote speaker at the Brain, Learning, & Applications Summer Institute. Nashville, TN. Topic: Whatever!: An Evolutionary Approach to the Teen Brain.
Veague, H.B. (May, 2007) Whatever!: The neuroscience of adolescence. Northeast Regional Nurse Practitioner Conference, Invited Speaker.
Veague, H.B. & Bennett, C.A. (2006) Whatever!: The neuroscience of adolescence. Invited training through Planned Parenthood New England