Brace Yourself: From Childhood Illness to Play Therapy at Lepage Associates with Charlotte Wilkerson

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 experienced firsthand how ostracizing ‘invisible’ illnesses can be, as my peers only believed in my disease on days when I wore a knee brace. Since recovering, I’ve been determined to help children and adolescents who face the most invisible struggles: mental illness. 

When I arrived at UNC, my first extracurricular pursuit appeared unrelated to psychology—I joined The Daily Tar Heel as a university desk writer. However, the first article I ever pitched resulted in one of the most formative experiences of my college career. After receiving a mass email about a petition to ban calorie counts from dining hall screens, I decided to interview various UNC faculty for their opinions. This resulted in me meeting Dr. Anna Bardone-Cone, head of UNC’s Eating Disorders and Body Image Lab, and subsequently applying to work in her lab as a research assistant. The same semester, I was also accepted to work in Dr. Jonathan Abramowitz’s Stress and Anxiety Lab. My research experiences have defined my undergraduate years—I’ve conducted in-person experiments studying relationship OCD and interoceptive exposure, transcribed manuscripts, coded qualitative data, and recruited participants, among many other activities. I am also currently co-authoring a manuscript exploring parental pressures and psychological outcomes in South Asian populations. 

After studying sociology at the University of Zurich last spring, I decided to pursue further interests in the field by completing an independent study. This project examined whether, and how, parents educated their children about campus sexual assault before they began college. The resulting paper has been selected for publication in the 2025–2026 edition of JOURney, UNC’s journal of undergraduate research. Combined with my other experiences, completing a study from the ground up solidified my interest in research. 

Clinical psychology is unique because the field extends across three domains: research, teaching, and practice. Already involved in one, I knew that I needed experience in the other two fields. When Dr. Karen Gil offered me the chance to be a ULA for her Health Psychology class, I was thrilled, and the role has been nothing short of transformative. I assist with every lesson, develop and teach three of my own, and help students individually in my office hours. I am now confident that I want to pursue teaching as well.  

As a Karen M. Gil Intern, I get to explore the third sector of clinical psychology—practice. Since beginning my internship at Lepage Associates, I have been immersed in both the administrative processes that run the practice and its clinical side. My mentor is Dr. Tina Lepage, founder and CEO of the practice, but I work closely with many other clinicians and staff.  

On the administrative end, I regularly answer phone calls, schedule appointments, receive and send faxes, scan diagnostic and insurance documents, assist with marketing outreach, and organize client inventory. In my first meeting with Dr. Lepage, she told me that I have two options when completing this work: I can simply scan a document, or I can instead read it, think about it, write down questions, and then scan it. This sentiment guides how I approach these tasks, making my behind-the-scenes work even more rewarding and allowing me to become familiar with a range of evaluation materials. 

The second half of my internship involves working with clinicians. I assist with child therapy sessions, which has confirmed that children and adolescents are the population I want to work with. I have researched psychology-based educational interventions and helped create a presentation about them. I have also conducted research for a juvenile court case and written about my findings, which sparked an interest in forensic psychology. Additionally, I develop webinars for clinicians to present, which has taught me about both expanding the reach of the practice and content creation. I look forward to continuing this work and furthering my understanding of clinical practice. 

The Karen M. Gil Internship has given me the confidence to say that I want to work in all three domains of clinical psychology. After graduating, I plan to pursue either a post-baccalaureate research position or a research master’s degree overseas and then a PhD in Clinical Psychology. I am profoundly thankful to Dr. Tina Lepage for her mentorship, Ms. Tammy Lepage for her guidance in office management, and all of the clinicians who have given me such invaluable experiences. I would also like to thank Dr. Steven Buzinski and Richie Gray for their faith in my ability as an intern and for providing me with this opportunity. This internship has been a highlight of my time at UNC, and I am deeply grateful to everyone involved.