Amber Wimsatt Childs, PhD

Dr. Amber W. Childs is a licensed clinical psychologist and assistant professor of psychiatry in the Yale School of Medicine. She is the Director of Training for the Yale Doctoral Internship in Clinical and Community Psychology in the School of Medicine and Co-Director of the Division of Quality and Innovation within Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital (YNHPH) where she is a member of the medical staff. Additionally, Childs is the co-founder and director of the Getting Racism Out of our Work (GROW) Initiative, co-founder of the Yale Measurement-Based Care Collaborative and founder of M-Select, a comprehensive digital mental health solution for youth at YSM.

Childs is deeply involved in antiracism and DEI efforts within the Psychiatry Department. She served as the Co-Chair of the Doctoral Internship Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, from 2020-2023, of which she has been a member since 2016 . She served as the invited co-chair of the Education Subcommittee of the Yale Department of Psychiatry Antiracism Task Force (ARTF) from 2020-2023 and remains a member of the ARTF Steering Committee.

Childs’ work aims to improve equity, access, and outcomes in psychiatric services and education through data-driven quality improvement and a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). She is dedicated to clinical and educational program innovations that support the implementation of evidence-based practices and diversity, equity, and inclusion concepts to improve clinical and educational practices. Across her roles, Dr. Childs professional activities include: 1) promotion and implementation of evidence-based practices (EBP), such as Measurement-Based Care (MBC), that prioritize person-centered, individualized treatment and improved psychosocial outcomes; 2) improvement of psychiatric treatment among those who experience chronic and acute psychiatric illness, particularly for young people who are marginalized and minoritized; and 3) cultivating a generation of psychology leaders who have a deep and sophisticated understanding of DEI as it relates to clinical service delivery, research, and education.

Childs earned her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and completed a doctoral internship and post-doctoral residency at the Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital, where she specialized in child and adolescent services.