Biography
Dr. Patricia M. Watts earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research in New York City. Her clinical training includes working with trauma survivors (with an emphasis on sexually based trauma) at New York Hospital’s Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Clinic. She completed her internship year at Connecticut Valley Hospital treating patients with severe and persistent mental illness. In addition, she trained at Whiting Maximum Security Service, a forensic facility for criminals found not guilty by reason of insanity and patients who are a serious danger to themselves or others. She worked on Whiting’s assessment unit conducting psychological evaluations and psychotherapy for individuals and groups.
Dr. Watts was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship at the Department of Psychiatry at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, the University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell. There, she specialized in cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders, treating patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. She also trained at the Personality Disorders Institute in the use of Transference-Focused Psychotherapy, a successful treatment for patients with borderline personality disorder.
In her doctoral dissertation, Dr. Watts explored how the therapist’s emotional response to the client influences psychotherapy outcome. Her study examined the importance of the alliance between client and therapist in promoting therapeutic change.
Becoming a psychologist is a career change for Dr. Watts. As an undergraduate she completed a B.A. degree in English literature at Goucher College in Baltimore. She went on to pursue a 15-year career as a magazine editor and writer. She covered workplace issues including management strategies, balancing work and family, and negotiating office politics. Dr. Watts incorporates this experience in her therapy work, helping clients fulfill their career potential.
Dr. Watts joined The Counseling Associates, a group psychotherapy practice, in 2005. She took over the Florida Keys practice in 2009 and has two locations: Marathon and Key Largo.
Professional Memberships
- American Psychological Association
- Southeast Florida Association for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
- National Alliance on Mental Illness, Middle Keys Chapter, Board Member
- Psychologists for Social Responsibility