Dr. Serena Butler-Johnson – Director of the Counseling and Wellness Center
Dr. Serena Butler-Johnson is a Licensed Psychologist and the Director of the Counseling and Wellness Center at the University of the District of Columbia. Dr. Butler-Johnson is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at the George Washington University Professional Psychology Program and a faculty member of the DC Department of Behavioral Health – St. Elizabeth’s Psychiatry Residency Training Program. She has a wealth of leadership, clinical, and programmatic experience as an administrator, direct service provider, and supervisor. Dr. Butler-Johnson particularly enjoys policy development, clinical administration, grant writing, and strategic planning. Dr. Butler-Johnson also has experience leading health services, disability services, and peer education programs, and she has served as an Assistant Vice President for Student Wellness. Dr. Butler-Johnson is passionate about providing accessible, quality mental health service to members of underserved, BIPOC, and marginalized populations. Dr. Butler-Johnson is an elected Board member of the Association of University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD). Dr. Butler-Johnson received the UDC 2023 Student Development and Success (SDS) Impact Award for extraordinary service to SDS.
As a clinician, Dr. Butler-Johnson is warm and strengths-based in her approach, integrating psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, and acceptance and commitment, and client-centered therapeutic techniques. Dr. Butler-Johnson’s interests include therapeutic use of creativity and the arts, clinical supervision, first generation college students, relational concerns, depression, anxiety, movement and physical activity, nutrition, and women’s issues. Dr. Butler-Johnson is also a Certified Cardio Sports Instructor.
Dr. Butler-Johnson received her Doctorate in Psychology (Psy.D.) from The George Washington University and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Emory University in Atlanta, GA.