Dr. Robert Albiston

Dr. Robert Albiston, Ph.D.


Dr. Robert K. Albiston Ph.D.

Dr. Robert Albiston has been with PPA since 1984. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the clinical training program at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 1983 and completed his clinical internship training at the State University of New York College of Medicine in Syracuse the same year. Dr. Albiston’s primary professional activities involve providing psychotherapy to individuals of late high school age and above. The foundation of his psychotherapy work involves helping individuals achieve a fuller understanding of the sources of personal distress and promoting enhanced coping capabilities. Insight into the nature of conflicts and relationship concerns is emphasized in order to assist each person to achieve a fuller, less stressful, more productive and satisfying life. In certain instances, he assists individuals who present more circumscribed or limited goals. His training and use of skills is broad-based and his approach is has been described as being down to earth and pragmatic. When appropriate and deemed useful, he coordinates care with relevant parties, such as colleagues in primary care medicine, neurology, and psychiatry.

In addition to providing psychotherapy, Dr. Albiston uses his clinical skills to help serve the needs of various professional organizations and private companies. He is active with and is a former president and secretary of the Appalachian Psychoanalytic Society. He provides psychological evaluation services to regional law enforcement agencies and organizations requiring high level security clearance determination for their employees. In the private sector, he has served as Chairman of the Cariten Behavioral Health Professional Advisory Panel (addressing the mental health branch of this regional multi-specialty system of medical centers, hospitals, and offices). He has long worked in mental health provider panel development and maintenance for Prime Provider System, a regional panel of professionals in which inclusion on the basis of clinical excellence is consistently sought in order to meet the needs for mental health services in the area. Dr. Albiston is quite active in advocating for healthcare policy provisions which broadly affect patient access to quality healthcare (he is a former vice president of the Tennessee Psychological Association and continues to participate in efforts to inform the legislature on a range of mental health issues at state and national levels). On a selective basis, he provides forensic psychological evaluations and other services to a range of parties. He has provided such evaluations, expert witness testimony, and consultation services involving the U.S. Federal Court, the U.S. Department of Justice, County Courts, and General Session Courts.