Adriana Kipper-WilliamsI am a bicultural clinical psychologist passionate about working with stories of struggle and growth, which are essential to the journey of self-awareness. I am deeply honored to witness my clients reinvent themselves and build more meaningful, nurturing relationships.
Drawing on my 25+ years of training and experience in Brazil and the U.S., I use an integrative, culturally responsive approach to psychotherapy grounded in insight-oriented, cognitive-behavioral, trauma-informed, and mindfulness-based strategies.
My clinical practice is anchored in the values of perseverance, hope, love, wholeheartedness, and courage. While I am a generalist, I have focused my training on the treatment of anxiety and mood disorders, insomnia, traumatic stress, grief, and the impact of dementia on caregivers and families.
In addition to helping my clients alleviate distress stemming from their presenting symptoms, I listen carefully to how the past has inadvertently been re-created in here-and-now situations that cause pain and heartache.
Services provided in English or Portuguese.
Training, Experience, & What I BringDrawing on 25+ years of training and clinical experience in Brazil and the U.S., my practice has focused on:
College mental health &
Supporting emerging adults
With over 13 years at the Vanderbilt University Counseling Center, I held roles as Trainee, Clinical Provider, Clinical Director, and Interim Director.
Caregiving and Grief
Drawing from both personal experience as a dementia caregiver and 11 years leading a dementia caregiver support group, I am deeply committed to empowering caregivers — strengthening the relationships, resilience, and coping strategies that sustain them.
Well-being for healthcare providers
I have been practicing at Vanderbilt Health's Work-Life Connections—EAP, Faculty & Physicians Wellness Program for the past several years.
Identity development across the lifespan
Identity is not a destination — it is a lifelong journey. Like the ever-changing patterns of a kaleidoscope, each stage of life reshapes who we are, pushing us beyond our perceived limitations and revealing a version of ourselves that is greater, stronger, and more expansive than we ever dared to dream.
Leadership and Systems Knowledge
As Clinical Director at Vanderbilt University Counseling Center and Associate Director of Human Resources at a prominent Brazilian university, I have developed a deep expertise in organizational leadership—driven by the conviction that well-being, identity, and performance are the inseparable pillars of transformative leadership.
My Approach to TherapyIn my clinical work, I use an integrative, culturally responsive psychotherapy approach—grounded in:
Insight-oriented psychotherapy
Cognitive Behavioral strategies
Trauma-informed care, including EMDR
Mindfulness-based practices
Live, Love, & ServiceI am the proud mother of a kind, beautiful young adult now in college. My husband and I love to travel and cycle, exploring nature's beauty and savoring life’s most precious moments.
My volunteer work has been focused on the caregivers of individuals who have been diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), as I led an AFTD caregivers’ support group in Nashville from 2014 to 2024. I have also served as lead organizer for several FTD Awareness Events at Vanderbilt Health’s Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology (Grand Rounds and Community Events).
Media
Publications
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Note: These were published under my former surname, Kipper-Smith.
Stetkevych, K., Sherman, M. F., Sriken, J., Erford, B. T., Smith, H. L., Kipper-Smith, A., & Niarhos, F. (in press). Testing for longitudinal measurement invariance of CCAPS-34 scores with a large university sample. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development.Sherman, M. F., Sriken, J., Erford, B. T., Smith, H. L., MacInerney, E., Niarhos, F., & Kipper-Smith, A. (2021). Psychometric Analysis of CCAPS-34 Scores With a Large University Sample. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 54:4, 219-232, DOI: 10.1080/07481756.2020.1843971
Kipper-Smith, A. (2021). The Bearable Lightness of Being. HealthyU: Fostering the holistic wellbeing of Vanderbilt faculty and staff, Jan-March 2021.
Erford, B. T., Sriken, J., Sherman, M., Hibbs, J. S., Smith, H. L., Kipper-Smith, A., & Niarhos, F.(2020). Psychometric analysis, internal structure, and measurement invariance of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) Scores from a large university sample. Measuring and Evaluation in Counseling and Development. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07481756.2020.1770101
Kipper-Smith, A., Tift, J., & Frye, J. (2016). Effects of biofeedback on distress in a university counseling center: Preliminary Results. International Journal of School & Education Psychology, 4, 34-42. DOI:10.1080/21683603.2016.1130556
Kipper-Smith, A. (2014). An example of learning from clients cross-culturally: North American and Brazilian psychologists. In S. L. Hatcher (Ed.), What Psychotherapists Learn from Their Clients (pp. 216-264). Bloomington, IN: Xlibris.
Kipper-Smith, A., & Hatcher, S. L. (2014). Learners about life and art. In S. L. Hatcher (Ed.), What Psychotherapists Learn from Their Clients (pp. 29-53). Bloomington, IN: Xlibris.
Hatcher, S. L., Kipper-Smith, A., Waddell, M., Uhe, M., West, J. S., Boothe, J. H., Frye, J. M., Tighe, K., Usselman, K. L., & Gingras, P. (2012). What therapists learn from psychotherapy clients: Effects on personal and professional lives. Qualitative Report, 17, 1-21. DOI: 10.46743/2160-3715/2012.1702
Kipper-Smith, A. (2012). Amizade, trabalho e bem-estar Subjetivo.[Friendship, work, and subjective well-being]. In L. K. de Souza and C. S. Hutz (Eds.), Amizade em Contexto: Desenvolvimento e Cultura. [Friendship in Context: Development and Culture] (pp.197-227). Sao Paulo, SP: Casa do Psicologo.