Director of Clinician Development

Ms. Williams is the Director of Clinician Development for WellQor, the nation’s leading provider of behavioral health services for Seniors. Candace received her MSW from Columbia University and has spent over 20 years in the field developing unique interventions to better the lives of her clients. Throughout her time in the field, Candace has worked as a certified geriatric social worker, certified mediator, crisis management specialist, and family development specialist. She received the UnSung Heroes Award for her work during September 11th, where she supervised the disaster welfare inquiry center. For the last 10 years, she has specialized in working with older adults and their families, establishing herself as an industry expert with multiple published works, and regular public appearances speaking on the emotional and cognitive health of seniors.  At WellQor, Candace has created an extensive clinical training program and continues to oversee the professional development and training of new clinicians. She also moderates their unique Clinician Connect platform, where psychologists and social workers collaborate to identify the appropriate interventions for older adults who are in need of support.

Clinical Director, South

Dr.Smith is a clinical psychologist with 15 years of experience working with specialized populations. She earned her Doctor of Psychology degree in 2005 from Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, MO. She completed post-graduate training at Metrocare Services in Dallas, TX where she developed skills working with individuals of all ages with pervasive developmental disorders. During her time at Metrocare, Dr. Smith rose to the position of Chief Psychologist. In that role, she oversaw the development of multiple new programs, conducted community trainings on Autism and developmental disabilities, and helped her team develop a new and more efficient EHR system. She also served on multiple treatment teams, held a position on the Behavioral Intervention Committee, and conducted countless developmental assessments for a wide variety of programs.  

Currently, Dr. Smith serves as the Lead Psychologist for WellQor’s southern region including Texas. She and her team of psychologists and clinical social workers are responsible for the evaluation, care planning, and treatment of older adults with mental health issues ranging from mild depression and anxiety to more serious diagnoses like schizophrenia & Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Smith feels it is important to involve the whole system when working with this population in order to provide comprehensive care and support to the individual, their family members, and their caregivers. Dr. Smith specializes in encouraging patients to find purpose and meaning in their lives and uses a strengths-based approach to treatment.

 During her free time, Dr. Smith enjoys spending time with her husband and three children. You can often find her in the gym cheering on her children in their various sports and activities.  

Clinical Director, West

Dr. Giella, PsyD.  is a clinical psychologist with over 15 years of clinical and management experience.  Dr. Giella masters in Applied Clinical Psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Ryokan College.  He is extensively trained in Psychoanalytic psychotherapy, specializing in long-term, in-depth, insight-oriented work.  Dr. Giella has served as clinical director of multiple mental health programs including leading the clinical team for Inpatient Crisis for 4 years, and multiple other programs that provided treatment in individual and group formats, treating a variety of diagnoses and levels of functionality. He has also served as quality management specialist where he focused on increasing compliance, clinical/policy training and mentoring staff, policy development, and procedure/protocol streamlining. 

At WellQor, Dr. Giella oversees clinical operations for his team of Psychologists and Licensed Clinical Social Workers who support seniors and their families in the Western United States.  In this capacity, Dr. Giella conducts extensive psychological evaluations, creates treatment plans for and monitors the progress of each of the clients in his team’s care.   He and his team have significantly improved the quality of the living for hundreds of seniors, their families and communities.