
AYA INAMORI WILLIAMS, PH.D. (ウィリアムズ彩) (she/her)
Licensed Clinical Psychologist (PSY35656)
Speaks Japanese and basic Spanish
Dr. Williams earned my BA in Psychology and Linguistics from Stanford University and my PhD in Clinical Psychology from University of California, Berkeley. She completed her predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children and Adolescent Services, at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
Dr. Williams clinical expertise centers on working with school-age children and families from multilingual, multicultural immigrant communities. She has a particular focus on supporting children and families with ADHD and the “big feelings” that often accompany ADHD. Her work is grounded in Parent Management Training (PMT) and Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT).
Dr. Williams view each person or child within context - family, school, neighborhood, and community. By strengthening these connections, she and her clients can improve mental health symptoms and well-being. In therapy, she integrates behavioral strategies from parent management training with emotion-focused approaches from family therapy. She believes that bridging language and cultural gaps within families can deepen understanding, strengthen relationships, and promote family well-being.
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Dr. Williams directs a clinical research lab at Santa Clara University, where her team focuses on multilingual mental health. Their recent research on Japanese–English bilingual speakers was featured by the Association for Psychological Science.

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
EDUCATION
Doctor of Psychology (Clinical Psychology)
University of California, Berkeley
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Bachelor of Arts (Psychology and Linguistics)
Stanford University
EXPERTISE
Family Therapy
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School-age children
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Multilingual and multicultural immigrant communities
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Parent Management Training (PMT)
Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT)
PUBLICATIONS
Williams, A., Rochanavibhata, S., & Marian, V. (in press). Language-dependent expression of anxiety and depression symptoms in Japanese–English bilinguals. Clinical Psychological Science.
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Williams, A. I., Liu, C., Zhou, Q., Wu, J., Meng, L., Fang Deng, X., & Chen, S. H. (2024). Parental expressions of love in Chinese American immigrant families: Implications for children's attachment security. Developmental Science, 27(6), e13549.
Williams, A., Srinivasan, M., Liu, C., Lee, P., & Zhou, Q. (2020). Why do bilinguals code-switch when emotional? Insights from immigrant parent–child interactions. Emotion, 20(5), 830.
