Clinical Assistant Professor, UNC Department of Psychiatry
Staff Psychologist, Raleigh TEACCH Center
Education:
B.S., Psychology with Honors, Appalachian State University
M.A., Clinical Psychology, University of Mississippi
Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, University of Mississippi Clinical Psychology Internship, the University of Colorado at Denver Department of Psychiatry, Adult Developmental Disabilities
Postdoctoral Fellowship, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of Psychiatry, Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities
Discipline:
Clinical Psychologist
Summary Statement:
Ashley Hester is a Clinical Psychologist at the Raleigh TEACCH Autism Center and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the UNC Department of Psychiatry. She is a licensed psychologist and works with autistic individuals across the lifespan and their families. Ashley primarily performs diagnostic evaluations for autism with both children and adults. She also co-leads a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) group for autistic adults. Ashley enjoys training students and other professionals and helping families understand the unique learning styles associated with autism. Ashley’s background is in working with teens with psychiatric comorbidities and dangerous behaviors and she is particularly interested in how these issues may affect autism diagnosis and presentation. She is also passionate about making healthcare more accessible for autistic patients and applying principles of Universal Design to help all patients to be more actively involved in their healthcare and ensuring that their healthcare needs are met.
