Dr. Williams-Nickelson is a licensed clinical psychologist with more than two decades of clinical and leadership experience spanning psychology, medicine, education and training, and national nonprofit organizations. As the Founder, Partner, and Chief Executive of Clarity Psychological, she is committed to ensuring that Clarity delivers outstanding evidence-based services to each client. She prioritizes assembling a team of highly accomplished and uniquely talented providers who share her vision for excellence in care.
Clinical Services and Approach
Dr. Williams-Nickelson provides individual, group, couples, and family therapy, as well as workshops, retreats, camps, and specialized therapy programs designed to support individuals experiencing acute, life stage, and chronic issues. She is recognized for her remarkably personalized and warm approach that fosters deep, authentic, and trusting relationships with her clients, many of whom return for support during various life events and milestones. Her extensive experience includes working with children, teens, and adults presenting with complex symptom profiles and diverse backgrounds.
Expertise and Treatment Methods
Dr. Williams-Nickelson’s specific areas of clinical expertise and interest include:
Cognitive and Affective Regulation: Emotion and behavior regulation, mood disorders, stress and anxiety, grief and loss.
Developmental & Systemic Issues: Adjustment and life transitions, adolescent identity development, social challenges, intimate relationship concerns, LGBTQ+ issues, and women's issues.
Complex Presentations: Complex trauma, personality disorders, eating problems, and body-image issues.
Cognitive Functioning: ADHD, Autism, and executive functioning.
Professional Development: Career development, workforce re-entry, and executive leadership.
She utilizes empirically supported assessment and treatment approaches drawn from family systems, social constructionism, solution-focused, narrative, feminist-informed, trauma-informed, and cognitive-behavioral therapies. Her career has involved providing direct services in a wide range of settings, including hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, crisis centers, residential treatment centers, university counseling centers, community clinics, schools, the juvenile justice system, the military, and law enforcement agencies. Her collaborative approach with clients and practitioners from other disciplines focuses on developing comprehensive and integrated treatment plans, ultimately helping clients achieve healthier, happier, and more meaningful lives.
Leadership, Advocacy and Research Contributions
Dr. Williams-Nickelson is a well-respected national leader and activist committed to expanding access to quality healthcare. She has served as Chief Executive for several national nonprofit organizations in psychology, medicine, and social services, including the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APA), the American Medical Student Association and Foundation, HDev Coaching and Consulting, and Support Health Services.
Her systemic intervention and advocacy work include chairing and participating on Boards of Directors for numerous charities, educational institutions, and healthcare nonprofits. Recently, in her roles as Chairperson of the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) Special Education Advisory Committee and as a member of the LCPS School Counseling Services Advisory Committee, she played a key role in advocating for increased mental health services and formal social-emotional learning programs in schools. Notably, while at APA, she helped to shape the priorities, education, and competences for doctoral training in psychology, as well as created and led many programs for mentoring and building the future leaders of psychology.
She is widely published in her field and has presented extensively at professional and scientific conferences on topics related to her research and expertise, including:
Mentoring and leadership development.
Empowering girls and women's emotional health.
The application of psychology in non-clinical settings.
The education and training of psychologists and physicians.
Behavioral health interventions for special clinical populations.
As a member of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Committee on Adolescent Girls, she collaborated with national experts to address emerging mental health issues impacting young women from both practice and policy perspectives. Additionally, she has contributed as a subject matter expert for APA books and publications on doctoral training in psychology and clinical theory and practice.
Academic Roles and Achievements
Dr. Williams-Nickelson earned her master’s degree (MS) in counseling psychology, with a specialization in marriage and family therapy, and her doctorate (PsyD) in psychology from Our Lady of the Lake University. She completed her APA-accredited predoctoral internship at the University of Notre Dame Counseling Center.
Dr. Williams-Nickelson has taught graduate and undergraduate psychology courses at the University of Notre Dame, Our Lady of the Lake University, the University of the Incarnate Word, Saint Mary’s University, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and has been an invited guest lecturer at many universities and institutions across the nation. Her leadership and contributions have been recognized with several awards in the fields of psychology and medicine.
Personal Life and Community Engagement
A resident of Loudoun County for over 25 years, Dr. Williams-Nickelson has actively contributed to her community through service as a PTA president, planning events for the Broadlands Homeowners Association, and leading charity drives. She and her husband, Dr. David Nickelson, PsyD, JD, raised two accomplished daughters who are currently thriving in college and their careers. Dr. Williams-Nickelson has a passion for traveling, vacationing with her family in many countries including Italy, France, Spain, Ireland, England, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Mexico, as well as beach destinations such as Hawaii, St. Lucia, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. In her spare time, Dr. Williams-Nickelson finds creative fulfillment and relaxation through crafting, designing, and gardening.
Ongoing Commitment to Mental Health and Advocacy
Dr Williams-Nickelson continues to champion the needs of individuals facing mental health challenges by actively working to eliminate mental health stigma, empower her clients, train and mentor the next generation of clinical providers, serve in national leadership roles, and contribute to psychological science through scholarly work.