Intern Blog

Hello! My name is Charlotte Wilkerson, and I am a Clinical Psychology Intern at Lepage Associates Psychological Services this semester. I’m a junior from Asheville, North Carolina pursuing a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in German studies.   My interest in psychology originated from personal experience with chronic illness. I was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis when I was 10, and it took years for it to go into remission, making it a defining aspect of my adolescence. I ex

Hi everyone! My name is Urvi Patel, and I am a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill majoring in Neuroscience, with minors in Chemistry and Entrepreneurship. Throughout my time at Carolina, I have been driven by a strong interest in how access shapes health outcomes. As I prepare for a career in medicine, I have become especially committed to addressing the inequities that prevent individuals in underserved communities from receiving quality care. “I’m sor

Hello! My name is Megan Taylor (she/her), and I am a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill majoring in Neuroscience with a minor in Chemistry. I’m originally from Minneapolis, MN, and this semester, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to serve as a Gil Intern at the TEACCH Autism Program.   My interest in the human brain and neuroscience originated from early personal experiences that highlighted how severe neurological conditions and behavioral health crises fundamentally influence dail

“Honey, take the Ativan!” This was the most salient request coming through the chaos of shuffling feet and crowding bodies and beeping machines as a Holly Hill patient laid on the ground by the med window, convulsing and crying, presumably having an anxiety attack. She was refusing the medicine, trying to write her requests and feelings on a piece of paper because she was hard of hearing and temporarily mute amidst the panic and stress. The Holly Hill staff, finding her vital

Hello! My name is Yuthika Sathyanarayanan (she/her). I am a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill majoring in Psychology and Biology and minoring in Social and Economic Justice. My interest in psychology and psychiatry began in middle school, when I started to learn more about human behavior and recent clinical psychology research. However, this interest in psychology probably stemmed from a much younger age, a time when I was a kid watching detective and spy shows, reading Sherlock and

Hello all! My name is Darian Du (he/him pronouns), and I’m currently an undergraduate junior at UNC-Chapel Hill pursuing a major in Psychology working at the Morse Clinic in Durham, NC. Though I wasn’t always passionate about psychology and mental health, my love for it began in high school, enrolling in AP Psych, (misguidedly) thinking that it could help resolve my mental health challenges. While indeed, there were some tangentially-related habits and/or techniques that I wo

Hello everyone! My name is Richie Gray, and I am the Gil Internship Manager for the Fall 2025 cohort. I had the pleasure of visiting Lepage Associates during the Fall 2025 semester. Lepage Associates is a multi-speciality private practice that offers a wide range of psychological and psychiatric services for both adults and children. These services include psychotherapy, psychoeducation, testing & assessments, forensic evaluations, and much more.   Lepage Associates' office

Hello, my name is D’Shawn Thomas, and I am a senior at UNC–Chapel Hill, majoring in Psychology (B.S.) with a minor in Chemistry. My passion for psychiatry began during my senior year of high school, a period when I first started to see how mental health intersects with culture, community, and identity. Growing up, I saw someone close to me in my immediate family struggle with addiction, and I witnessed the emotional weight that untreated mental health challenges can place on

That’s the word that plays over and over again in my mind as I drive twenty minutes out to an eating disorder and mental health treatment center in Durham, North Carolina. Carolina House offers residential, partial hospitalization (PHP), and intensive outpatient care (IOP) for adults. And yet, despite being one of the few facilities of its kind in the state, it has been shut down and deemed financially unsustainable. Clients were forced to transfer elsewhere, and staff member

Hello! My name is Yutong Wu, and I’m from Nanjing, China. I’m currently a junior majoring in Psychology and Biostatistics, with a minor in Education. My interest in clinical psychology first began in middle school when I realized how fascinated I was by observing people, understanding their behaviors, and exploring the reasons behind them. Although my high school didn’t offer psychology courses, I started teaching myself, reading related books, and even founded a psychology c

Hello! My name is Mina Bayraktar, and I am a senior at UNC Chapel Hill majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Chemistry. My family is originally from Türkiye, but now we call Cary, North Carolina home. My passion for neuroscience began in an unexpected way, through the movie Inside Out . I remember being in middle school, completely mesmerized by how the film illustrated the inner workings of the brain and connected it to behavior and emotions. That was the spark that set m

My fascination with human behavior began in high school as I closely observed the early development of my younger siblings. That initial curiosity deepened when I volunteered at a summer camp, where guiding preschoolers and encouraging their creativity taught me how essential a safe, supportive environment is for growth. I saw how children thrive when they feel secure, seen, and heard. In recent years, however, my understanding of safety and support has been profoundly reshap