Verena Roberts, PhD, is the Director of Behavioral Sciences at the Idaho State University Family Medicine Residency in Pocatello, Idaho since May 2015. Dr. Roberts also sees patients as part of the behavioral health team at Health West ISU, and she is the Co-Director of the Southeastern Idaho Psychology Internship Consortium.

Dr. Roberts attended ISU as an undergraduate and graduate and earned her doctorate from ISU. She then completed her internship at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Fort Logan in Denver. She subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Integrated Primary Care Psychology at the Colorado Health Foundation in Denver and later a second fellowship in Behavioral Science Education. During her time in Colorado, Dr. Roberts worked for Denver Health and Kaiser Permanente in integrated primary care but missed Idaho and hence moved back in 2015.

Dr. Roberts strives to provide a welcoming and accepting environment working with individuals from all backgrounds including the LGBTQ population but mainly focuses on adults to geriatrics. She will occasionally see teens for anxiety and depression related issues only. She addresses a variety of mental health concerns including but not limited to depression, anxiety disorders such as general and social anxiety, OCD, panic attacks, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, interpersonal and relationship issues, etc. as well as behavioral health concerns around binge/overeating, and behavioral management of other health issues including weight loss, sleep issues, etc. Dr. Roberts also supervises formal psychological assessments.

Dr. Roberts is well versed in a variety of therapeutic evidence-based techniques such as brief and solution-focused therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, exposure-based therapies, interpersonal therapy, and emotion-focused therapy.

When working with patients, Dr. Roberts enjoys getting to know each person and helping them grow and achieve their goals in a non-judgmental, supportive environment and ultimately help each patient live a fulfilled life. She recognizes that each person has the potential to grow and values the trust that is put into the therapeutic relationship. She focuses on developing specific goals and tools for each patient’s needs.

Dr. Roberts originally grew up in Berlin, Germany. She enjoys travel with her family and has traveled in Europe and the US extensively. She also enjoys good food, spending time with her horses and generally loves the great outdoors in Idaho.