Ashley J. Britton, PhD
Dr. Ashley J. Britton is a licensed clinical health psychologist and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine. She practices with ECU Health in Greenville, North Carolina, where she has been serving patients since July 2019. With nearly a decade of independent licensure, Dr. Britton is recognized for her expertise in integrated care, working within interdisciplinary medical teams to deliver whole-person treatment grounded in the biopsychosocial model. Her clinical work spans both inpatient and outpatient settings, where she addresses the psychological complexities of chronic illness, pain, and major medical interventions.
Dr. Britton specializes in conducting comprehensive pre-surgical psychological evaluations for patients pursuing transplant, bariatric and metabolic surgeries, as well as spinal cord neurostimulators for chronic pain disorders. She also provides adult ADHD assessments and psychological evaluations for clergy postulants. Deeply committed to health behavior change, she has a particular passion for obesity and weight management, offering patients practical education and evidence-based strategies for sustainable lifestyle modification. Her work emphasizes empowering individuals to better understand and manage the behavioral and emotional factors that influence their overall health outcomes.
In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Britton is a dedicated educator, mentor, and program developer. As a faculty member at ECU Health, she trains residents, medical students, and psychology interns, and recently built a health psychology fellowship program from the ground up, with its inaugural cohort set to begin in September. She is also an active lecturer and public speaker, presenting on topics such as behavioral medicine, diabetes-related distress, and the critical role of health psychologists in medical settings. Through her clinical, academic, and leadership efforts, Dr. Britton continues to advance the integration of mental and physical healthcare while shaping the next generation of providers.
• University of Kentucky - B.A. in Psychology with Spanish minor
• University of Miami - M.S. in Counseling
• University of Georgia - Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology with Health Psychology emphasis
• Henry Ford Health, Detroit, Michigan - Clinical Psychology Internship
• Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Charleston - Postdoctoral Fellowship
• Certified with the National Register of Health Service Psychologists
• Certifications in Clinical Treatment of Trauma and Anxiety
• Board Certification in Lifestyle Medicine (in process through ACLM)
• American Psychological Association (APA)
• APA Division 38
• Society of Health Psychology
• Clinical Health Services Council (CHSC) of Division 38
• Division 38 Lifestyle Medicine Interest Group
• American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM)
• Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers (APAHC)
• Southeastern Psychological Association (SEPA)
• Association of Medicine and Psychiatry (AMP)
Areas of Specialization/Expertise
- Pre-surgical evaluations for transplant
- bariatric and metabolic surgeries
- spinal cord neurostimulators for pain disorders
- Adult ADHD testing
- Psychological evaluations for clergy postulants
- Health behavior change and lifestyle behavioral interventions
- Obesity and weight management
- Chronic pain and chronic headaches/migraines
- Trauma and anxiety treatment
- Diabetes distress management
- Hypertension psychosocial factors
What do you enjoy most about practicing medicine?
I've always been interested in human behavior and motivation, both positive and more deviant, what kind of drives us in our behavior and sustaining certain things. As I got into my training and got exposed to different career paths, I realized I really liked the idea of the interplay of mental and physical health, and how they can both kind of either exacerbate or influence the other. I've enjoyed mentorship and supervision and training, so really enjoyed my internship and fellowship time in academic medical settings, and that's what I've stayed in. I like doing a lot of assessments and helping people see how all these things fit together, where they are, and how we can just make sure they're in a good place pursuing whatever it is they're pursuing, so whether it's their career path or a particular medical intervention, and getting them the supports they need. I like the Academic Medical Center with the mix of clinical and academia. Working with my bariatric population and working generally with obesity and weight management, I do a lot of lifestyle behavioral interventions, and I've found that I do a lot of the kind of bulk of education and follow-up with making the health behavior changes and how to go about implementing dietary changes in a way that's going to be realistic for them to start doing and then sustain over time and maintain. I enjoy explaining how it's all connected and how certain things are going to spike your blood sugar and then cause a crash later, and here's how your physical stuff ties into what you're doing, and here's how your beliefs and patterns and things you've learned from your upbringing and how you've coped with stresses in your life, how that has influenced some of the behaviors you follow now with your diet and your beliefs about exercise and movement.
Locations
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
600 Moye Boulevard, Mail Stop 694, Greenville, NC 27834
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