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Amber Wimsatt Childs, PhD

Associate Professor of Psychiatry
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Additional Titles

Director of Training, YSM Doctoral Internship in Clinical and Community Psychology, Psychiatry

About

Titles

Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Director of Training, YSM Doctoral Internship in Clinical and Community Psychology, Psychiatry

Biography

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.

Appointments

  • Psychiatry

    Associate Professor on Term
    Primary

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

Postdoctoral Fellow
The Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital (2015)
PhD
The University of Tennessee, Clinical Psychology (2014)
Predoctoral Fellow
The Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital (2014)

Research

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Amber Wimsatt Childs's published research.

Publications

2024

2023

2022

2021

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • activity

    Measurement-Based Care and Mental and Behavioral Health Advisory Committee

  • activity

    YSM, Grand Rounds and Visiting Lecture Committee, Department of Psychiatry

  • activity

    YSM, Executive Training Committee, Psychology Doctoral Internship, Department of Psychiatry, Psychology Section

  • activity

    Karasu Leadership Visiting Lecture Committee, YSM Psychiatry

  • activity

    Yale Ventures Faculty Advisory Board

Get In Touch

Contacts

Academic Office Number
Clinical Inquiry Number
Mailing Address

Yale School of Medicine

300 George Street

New Haven, CT 06511

United States

Locations

  • Director of Training, Yale Doctoral Internship in Clinical and Community Psychology

    Academic Office

    300 George Street, Fl 9, Rm 4

    New Haven, CT 06511