Tina E. Adkins, PhD
Psychotherapist, Researcher, and Founder
Dr. Tina E. Adkins is a psychodynamic psychotherapist, researcher, and writer with more than twenty-five years of experience in child welfare, foster care and adoption, developmental psychology, and relational mental health.
Her work integrates psychoanalytic theory, attachment research, developmental science, and reflective functioning to support deeper emotional understanding within individuals, families, and caregiving relationships.
Dr. Adkins earned her PhD in Theoretical Psychoanalytic Studies from University College London (UCL), following postgraduate training in Psychoanalytic Developmental Psychology through UCL and the Anna Freud Centre in London. She also holds a master’s degree in Professional Counseling from Texas State University.
In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Adkins continues research and scholarly writing focused on reflective functioning, parental mentalization, developmental trauma, and foster and adoptive family relationships. She worked and served as a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin for over a decade and continues to maintain a research affiliation there.
Affiliations & Leadership
Dr. Adkins co-founded the Sue Fairbanks Psychoanalytic Academy alongside Sue Fairbanks, helping build it into a training home that weaves psychoanalytic theory with the skills and values of social work practice. She currently serves as its Director and is helping guide the Academy into its next chapter as it establishes a national home within the American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work (AAPCSW).
She is a member of the teaching faculty of the Community Psychoanalysis Certificate Program at the Washington Baltimore Center for Psychoanalysis (WBCP).
Dr. Adkins is a Research Fellow of the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA) and a member of the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsA). Her research has been recognized by APA's Division of Psychoanalysis (Division 39), including a 2022 research award for one of the top posters at the Division's Annual Spring Meeting and selection as a Division 39 Scholar.
Clinical Approach
My therapeutic approach is grounded in the belief that emotional well-being develops through greater self-understanding, reflective capacity, and meaningful relationships.
Therapy is approached not simply as the reduction of symptoms, but as an opportunity to better understand emotional patterns, relational experiences, internal conflicts, and the ways individuals come to understand themselves and others over time.
I draw from psychoanalytic, attachment-based, and developmental perspectives and work with adults and adolescents navigating challenging experiences such as anxiety, trauma, identity development, relationship difficulties, caregiving stress, and life transitions.
My clinical work emphasizes reflective understanding, emotional depth, curiosity about internal experience, and thoughtful exploration within a collaborative therapeutic relationship.
Clinical & Professional Focus
Attachment and relational trauma
Foster care and adoption
Reflective parenting and parental mentalization
Adolescent emotional development
Developmental trauma and emotional regulation
Identity development and relational patterns
Caregiver stress and burnout
Psychodynamic and relational psychotherapy
Reflective functioning and mentalization
Clinical consultation and professional education
Professional Background
Over the course of her career, Dr. Adkins has worked extensively across clinical, research, and child welfare settings. Her professional experience includes psychotherapy, clinical consultation, reflective supervision, caregiver support, and interdisciplinary collaboration focused on emotional development, caregiving relationships, and relational understanding.
Her clinical and scholarly interests have centered particularly on the emotional experiences of children, caregivers, foster and adoptive families, and professionals working within systems of care.
In addition to direct clinical practice, Dr. Adkins continues to develop educational and scholarly initiatives focused on reflective functioning, parental mentalization, and the role of relational understanding within caregiving and professional contexts.