Gretchen E. Ames, Ph.D.

Gretchen E. Ames, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., is a clinical health psychologist at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, where she has cared for people living with obesity for nearly two decades. She joined the Mayo Clinic Bariatric Center team in 2007 and provides psychological evaluation and behavioral treatment for patients considering obesity management medications and metabolic bariatric surgery.

Dr. Ames approaches obesity as a complex health condition shaped by genetics, medical conditions, chronic stress, sleep loss, reduced activity and weight-promoting medications. Her clinical work draws on acceptance and commitment therapy, which centers on what patients most want their lives to be about rather than on the number on the scale.

Within Mayo Clinic's multidisciplinary team, her work spans the full arc of care, including pre-surgical evaluation and education, treatment of behavioral barriers to lifestyle change, and post-surgical support groups that help patients navigate the emotional and behavioral changes that accompany significant weight loss. She also cares for patients over the long term, including those experiencing weight recurrence.

Much of that work involves helping patients identify their values and reconnect with what they have postponed because of health concerns, physical discomfort or the weight itself. Anchoring treatment to personal goals rather than to a target weight builds the motivation and confidence to sustain the behaviors that support the life a patient wants to be living.

"I want patients to feel heard rather than judged," says Dr. Ames. "Most people arrive carrying years of blame that was never theirs to begin with, and that doesn't disappear when the weight does. Part of my work is helping them let that go."

Dr. Ames is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. She is active in clinical research on obesity, bariatric surgery and behavioral health, with peer-reviewed publications as well as presentations at national and international meetings. She is regularly invited as a course director and speaker at national conferences of The Obesity Society and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

She earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Florida. She is board certified in Clinical Health Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology, licensed as a psychologist in Florida and Georgia, and authorized through PSYPACT to practice telepsychology in more than 40 participating jurisdictions.

Dr. Ames has been named a Mayo Clinic in Florida Patient Experience Top Performer in consecutive years, an award determined by patient feedback.

Outside of work, she enjoys time with family, cooking, trail biking and yoga.