Amber Williams, PhD
Post-Doctoral Resident in Clinical Psychology
Locations: Fairfax, Telehealth
Specialties:
Identity Exploration
Trauma & Racial Stress
Anxiety, Depression & Mood Disorders
Treatment Approach:
Psychodynamic
CBT
Culturally Responsive and Contextual
Dr. Amber Williams provides individual and couples therapy for emerging adults and adults. She works most often with Black women and men, college and graduate students, and clients navigating the effects of racism and discrimination, and she welcomes clients from marginalized communities more broadly.
Dr. Williams holds a bachelor's degree in Sociology from California State University, Los Angeles, a Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California with a specialization in adult mental health and wellness, and a doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology from Howard University. She completed her predoctoral internship at Florida International University, where she provided individual and group therapy to a diverse student population and completed advanced training in evidence-based couples therapy. Her earlier training spans community mental health, university counseling centers, and neuropsychological assessment settings, and she spent five years as a mental health consultant supporting current and former service members through crisis assessment and short-term intervention.
Dr. Williams's research and scholarship examine race, stress, and mental health, including work on learned helplessness among Black Americans, the relationship between perceived stress and alcohol-related problems in couples, and how perceptions of police interactions with Black youth affect parental mental health. She has been a SAMHSA-sponsored HBCU L.E.A.P. fellow, a Diversity in Addiction Research Training fellow at the Medical University of South Carolina, and an adjunct professor of psychology at Montgomery College.
In therapy, Dr. Williams draws on both psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral approaches, working from the premise that early experiences shape our present thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and expectations of others—and that these patterns are further shaped by the environments and systems we live in. Her style is collaborative, exploratory, and direct: she works alongside clients to identify goals and deepen self-understanding while offering honest feedback and observations when they're useful. She connects well with clients who are introspective and curious, who want to examine patterns in their emotions and relationships, and who value making room for cultural identity, systemic factors, and life context in their care. Her clinical interests include couples therapy, non-traditional relationships, and the health of friendships. Dr. Williams aims to create a space where clients feel supported, challenged, and empowered to turn insight into meaningful change.
