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Professional Biography

Dr. Williams completed his PhD, in clinical psychology, at Stony Brook University, with an internship at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. His clinical training emphasized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with exposure to psychodynamic conceptualization and intervention. His research and clinical work at Stony Brook University focused on intimate partner relationships and aggression. He delivered couples therapy in the Stony Brook Marital Clinic and worked with court mandated men at a local domestic violence agency. The title of his dissertation is Rumination and Marital Adaptation to Stressful Events. Here is a link to his publications in peer reviewed journals: Publications

After earning his PhD, Dr. Williams worked at the VA Medical Center, in Northport New York, for 15 years. During that time, he held leadership roles and trained over 20 doctoral students in psychology. His clinical work at the hospital included further specialization in health psychology and the treatment of anxiety, depression, and trauma related disorders. Dr. Williams is an expert in CBT, and can adapt the approach to any presenting issue, but has also completed trainings in the following evidence based treatment protocols: Brief Motivational Interviewing, CBT for Depression, Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) for Depression, and Prolonged Exposure Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Treatment Approach

People are beautifully complex and diverse, so a one-size-fits-all approach just doesn’t make sense in therapy. Dr. Williams works collaboratively with his clients to understand their unique circumstances and values. He expertly integrates components of Motivational Interviewing (MI), Mindfulness, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to meet each client’s needs. His overarching goal in therapy is to help his clients clarify their values and teach them the skills they need to manifest those values in their daily lives. His goal is to help his clients understand themselves better and embark on a journey of intentional living and perpetual self expansion.

Living intentionally involves making conscious choices to think and act in alignment with your values. It leads to physical and emotional wellbeing. Intentional living is about clarity of purpose and lack of regrets in life. Time is everything. It’s the most precious resource you have, and it’s finite. Live Well.

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

MI is a conversational and collaborative approach in which clinicians help clients explore aspects of their lives to identify areas of change. People are capable of amazing things when they are motivated. When one is clear about WHY they are doing something difficult or unpleasant, the activity becomes purposeful and meaningful.

The most meaningful and valuable achievements in life tend to require hard work and sacrifice. The answer to the question “Why am I doing this difficult unpleasant thing and is it worth it?” has a significant effect on one’s emotional experience. When people can clearly articulate why they’re doing something unpleasant, it makes sense to them, and they feel proud of themselves for doing it. Hard work and sacrifice in the absence of purpose can leave people feeling like they’re on a hamster wheel to nowhere.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is much more than just meditation. It’s a skill in which one practices being aware of their present mental experience on a moment-by-moment basis. Thoughts and emotions occur automatically in a constant stream. We become like fish in water with our own mental experiences and are not always fully aware of our thoughts and feelings. We run on autopilot and fuse with our thoughts and feelings rather than experiencing them as data. Mindfulness is about noticing our mental experiences and making choices about how we think and act. It’s about thinking and acting intentionally, in alignment with your values and not being a slave to autopilot. Mindful practice can help you feel better and achieve your personal definition of success.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is based on the idea that biology and life experiences shape the way we perceive and interact with our environments, and that sometimes we can get stuck in unhelpful cycles in thought and behavior. CBT is often oversimplified by those who do not truly understand the approach. Uninformed critics see it as superficial and “not getting to the root of the problem,” but that’s simply inaccurate. CBT does tend to focus on how people are functioning in the present, but it’s also concerned with helping them develop insight into the experiences that shaped them. CBT seeks to shed light on one’s self concept, beliefs about the outside world, and how those beliefs impact our inner experiences and relationships with others.

CBT assumes a transactional association between people and their environments, in which people influence how their environments respond to them. For example, when a person is angry and anxious and expects to be hurt in relationships, they tend to behave in ways that pull for that from others. The person’s beliefs and behaviors create a self fulfilling prophecy in which their behavior elicits the negative outcomes they expect and thereby reinforces their beliefs and perpetuates unhealthy cycles in their life.

CBT is about identifying unhelpful patterns of thought and behavior and changing them. Real life experiences shape beliefs and only new and corrective real life experiences can change them for the better. CBT can help you understand yourself and put you in the driver’s seat in life.

Choosing a Therapist

The efficacy of MI, Mindfulness, and CBT is supported by a large body of research. That said, there are many roads to Rome, and these approaches are not the only ones that may be helpful for you. Research shows that the working alliance between clients and therapists is a better predictor of treatment success than the theoretical approach being used by the therapist. The working alliance refers the degree to which clients and clinicians agree on the goals and methods of therapy.

At the core level, most therapeutic approaches have more in common than differences. If you work with an experienced and highly skilled therapist, you probably won’t be aware of their theoretical orientation, based on what actually happens in therapy sessions. In sum, it’s helpful to educate yourself about treatment options, but more importantly, you should consult with more than one therapist and choose the one who seems like the best fit for you.