About Me

Formal Education

Dr. Ulman completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Vanderbilt University in 2009. Her pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship were both completed at UNC Chapel Hill.  The post-doctoral fellowship was in the UNC Eating Disorders program under the direction of Dr. Cynthia Bulik, which included collaboration with the Duke Eating Disorders Program.  Dr. Ulman holds a B.S. in Cognitive Science from the University of California, San Diego.

Current Work

Dr. Ulman currently divides her time between seeing clients in her private psychotherapy practice and writing.

Community Collaborations

Winter 2013: Presentation given through The Pro Bono Counseling Network:  The Gender Spectrum: Being an Inclusive and Effective Provider

Summer – Winter 2012:  Instructor at the Duke Non-Profit Management Program Intensive Track (Course: Program Evaluation for Funding & Sustaining Nonprofit Organizations)

April 2011: Partnered with the Museum of Life and Science to co-host the first of their series of Experimonth projects on the topic of mood.  You can read more about the project here.

About my logo

The open fern logo represents flourishing, which is a psychological concept that heavily influences Dr. Ulman’s approach to preventative and treatment work.  Dr. Ulman believes that the body and mind continually seek balance.  Psychological symptoms and feelings of low self-worth are evidence that something is out of balance.  Therefore, therapy goals typically include identifying aspects of functioning, both internally and externally, that may be hindering a person’s ability to find balance and contentment.  As barriers to balance are removed, a path often opens to create a life that could be described as flourishing.

“Corey Keyes, a researcher on flourishing, claims that flourishing is the epitome of mentally healthy adults having high levels of emotional well-being; they are happy and satisfied; they tend to see their lives as having a purpose; they feel some degree of mastery and accept all parts of themselves; they have a sense of personal growth in the sense that they are always growing, evolving, and changing; finally, they have a sense of autonomy and an internal locus of control, they chose their fate in life instead of being victims of fate.”

Dr. Ulman’s approach to therapy is to help individuals find their path to flourishing, which includes finding relief from unwanted thoughts and behaviors while determining what can be done to create a meaningful and fulfilling life.

Influences

Cindy Bulik and the UNC Eating Disorders Program

Nancy Zucker and the Duke Eating Disorders Program

Brené Brown and her blog, Ordinary Courage

Jean Baker Miller Training Institute

Rachel Simmons and the Girls Leadership Institute

Barbara Fredrickson

Sylvia Boorstein

Kate Bornstein

Dan Siegal

Mr. Rogers

Personal Interests

When not working, Dr. Ulman finds balance in activities including practicing qigoing, meditation, growing vegetables, reading, watching movies, birding, photography, and exploring the outdoors with her partner and two very energetic dogs while her cat naps.

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