Kate Heightmeyer

Doctor Kate Heightmeyer is a psychologist and one of the original members of the Atlantis Expedition &mdash; which, she noted, provided quite a bit of work for her. Prior to joining the expedition, her work had included spending several years as a couples therapist.

At the request of Major John Sheppard, Heightmeyer spoke with Teyla Emmagan after Teyla began having nightmares while the city prepared to face three Wraith hive ships. Teyla initially was wary about discussing her mental state, but after she was discovered to have Wraith DNA in her genetic makeup, the two worked together to probe Teyla's ability to sense the Wraith. Using hypnosis, Heightmeyer helped Teyla to telepathically connect with one of the Wraith on an approaching hive ship &mdash; an effort that led to Teyla being briefly possessed by the Wraith.


 * During this period, Doctor Rodney McKay was also seeing Heightmeyer, though he claimed that the two were romantically involved when Teyla encountered him outside her office.

When McKay found himself sharing his own body with the consciousness Lieutenant Laura Cadman, Heightmeyer worked with them and helped McKay learn to cede control. Despite her efforts, the physiological effects of the struggle between the two personalities nearly killed them both. She also took part in the deception surrounding Michael, working with him both before and after he learned of his true identity as a Wraith.

Heightmeyer returned to Atlantis after the city was retaken from the Asurans, and promptly faced a new series of psychological episodes, hallucinations first seen by Teyla. After Doctor Elizabeth Weir began seeing the visions as well, she raised concerns about the general level of overwork among the expedition members. Though the visions proved to be a result of a large indigenous Lantean fish, Heightmeyer still insisted that expedition members take a mandatory day off a few weeks later.