Skip Navigation and Go To Content
photo of Tessa Orellana

Tessa Orellana

PhD
Assistant Professor

Tessa Orellana, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston). She is a licensed psychologist and provides inpatient clinical services across The Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center. Her primary clinical interests include the treatment and assessment of borderline personality disorder and trauma. She is particularly passionate about education and providing clinical supervision and didactics to trainees.

Orellana earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Sam Houston State University. She completed her predoctoral internship at the University of Kansas Medical Center within the Underserved Populations track. She then completed postdoctoral fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine/Ben Taub Hospital. Orellana has experience working with children, adolescents, and adults within community mental health clinics, telehealth clinics, detention and probation centers, primary care clinics, inpatient medical hospitals, and inpatient psychiatric hospitals. Orellana is an active member of the Society for Personality Assessment (SPA).

Education

Doctoral Degree

Clinical Psychology. Sam Houston State University

Internship

Underserved Populations Track. University of Kansas Medical Center

Fellowship

Ben Taub Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine

Research

Clinical Interests

  • Borderline Personality Disorder
  • Trauma
  • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
  • Psychological Assessment
  • Personality Assessment

Research Interests

  • Personality Assessment
  • Psychological Assessment