“Give yourself permission to be well and tap into the power of your own healing.”
-Rebecca E. Williams, Ph.D.

Rebecca Williams, PhD is an award-winning author, a psychologist, and a leader in the field of wellness and recovery from mental illness and addiction. For over 20 years, she has skillfully guided her clients towards activating their resilience and protecting their emotional well-being from daily stressors. A licensed clinical psychologist since 1999, Dr. Williams was excited to put her experience into three books, The Mindfulness Workbook for Addiction, Second Edition, the pocket coach, The Gift of Recovery: 52 Mindful Ways to Live Joyfully Beyond Addiction, and her latest Simple Ways to Unwind Without Alcohol: 50 Tips to Drink Less and Enjoy More.

Dr. Williams received her B.A. in Psychology from Williams College and her master’s degree in Counseling and Consulting Psychology from Harvard University. She completed a Ph.D. with a specialization in Clinical Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Williams has been a Program Director at the VA San Diego Healthcare System, an Associate Clinical Professor at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Diego, School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES). She’s been a dedicated teacher, mentor, and clinical supervisor to students and trainees preparing for demanding careers in mental health and addiction treatment. Her trainees have become leaders across the country in high quality treatment of substance use, serious mental illness, and trauma recovery.

A life-long yoga enthusiast, Rebecca trained as a yoga instructor in Raja Yoga. “I have always believed deeply in the mind-body connection, once you know this connection it’s easy to return to it when things feel out of balance” she says. She was able to combine the ancient teachings of yoga and mindfulness with the power of emotional recovery from substance use in her three books.

Dr. Williams has collaborated for over ten years with marriage and family therapist, Julie Kraft. “Julie and I have a synergy when we work together, writing with Julie has been one of the highlights of my career” she says. Their first book together, The Mindfulness Workbook for Addiction: A Guide to Coping with the Grief, Stress, and Anger that Trigger Addictive Behaviors is popular with both therapists and recovering clients, and is used in addiction recovery centers across the country. Rebecca and Julie are thrilled to announce that The Mindfulness Workbook for Addiction has been translated into Korean, Japanese, Russian, Hungarian, Turkish and, most recently, Polish.

Continuing their writing journey together, Rebecca and Julie created a companion book, The Gift of Recovery: 52 Mindful Ways to Live Joyfully Beyond Addiction. Their second book offers lots more in-the-moment mindfulness skills and adds powerful daily affirmations as clients build on their emotional health and well-being.

Rebecca’s first solo writing adventure in over a decade is Simple Ways to Unwind Without Alcohol. She designed this book for people who are interested in cutting down or quitting drinking. This new book offers up 50 tips to de-stress, reclaim a healthier lifestyle, and focus on self-compassion and joy.

Rebecca has written articles for Common Ground Magazine, Addiction.com, New Harbinger.com, and Psyche.co. She has been an invited speaker at professional conferences and enjoys connecting with others as a featured guest on national podcasts (click here to choose a podcast and listen in!).

Speaking

Dr. Williams has been an invited speaker at these national conferences:

• The National Sexual Assault Conference
• The University of California, San Diego School of Medicine
• The University of California, San Diego Center of Mindfulness
• University of California, San Diego Eating Disorder Clinic
• West Coast Symposium of Addictive Disorders
• Scripps Research Institute Counseling and Psychological Services
• The Gervitz School, University of California, Santa Barbara
• Sharp HealthCare Mesa Vista Hospital
• Annual Conference of the California Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors
• Bi-annual Conference of the California Association of Addiction Recovery Resources
• Annual Behavioral Health Conference and Resource Fair: Meeting of the Minds
• Annual Convention for the American Psychological Association

Consulting

If you would like Dr. Williams to be a guest on your podcast, write an article for your magazine, or coach you on your writing journey, please use the contact form here. She would love to hear from you!