Psychologist assigned to the Atlantis expedition during its initial trip into the Pegasus Galaxy. Prior to the expedition Dr. Heightmeyer had spent some time as a couple's therapist. She has her own office on one of the piers of the city, where she conducts counselling sessions with the members of the expedition.

Heightmeyer counselled Dr. Rodney McKay for a time, but specific reasons for these sessions are not known. McKay implied that he was seeing the psychologist on a personal level.

Kate was called upon when Teyla Emmagan began experiencing nightmares about the Wraith. Major Sheppard asked that the doctor speak with her, and at first Teyla was offended and resistant to the gesture. Eventually she realized it was for the best.

Heightmeyer encouraged Teyla to tap into her buried memories, and eventually helped her uncover the fact that Teyla has Wraith D.N.A. and an ability to tap into the Wraith telepathic link. This technique was later used in delivering crucial false information about Atlantis and the team's plan to destroy it.

Dr. Heightmeyer's expertise was later required when McKay and Lieutenant Laura Cadman's minds were merged in McKay's body following an encounter with a Wraith Dart and its culling beam. She helped Cadman learn how to interact through McKay's body, utilizing his voice and motor controls. This newly-acquired freedom would eventually force Cadman and McKay back into a session with Heightmeyer, as Cadman would take her control of McKay's body too far.

After John Sheppard touched a glowing crystal on M3X-387 an alien lifeform entered him and was brought back to Atlantis. It travelled from person to person by physical contact and caused horrifying nightmares, then seemed to feed off the victim's fear. When it entered Kate, however, the shock of falling to her death in her dream killed her in her sleep.

DETAILS

PLAYED BY - Claire Rankin
FIRST APPEARED - The Gift

KEY EPISODE

The Gift - Dr. Heightmeyer helped Teyla work through her feelings toward the Wraith, and the unusual nightmares she has been having.
Duet - Heightmeyer is called to help Rodney McKay sort out a woman's presence inside his mind.
Doppelganger - Kate Heightmeyer is killed by the shock of falling in an alien-induced nightmare.