A physician of ADHD
ADHD is the condition Dr. Williams evaluates most often. He does not diagnose from a questionnaire alone; he takes a developmental history, meets the child separately, gathers teacher ratings and school records, and rules out sleep, learning, anxiety and mood problems that mimic it. Treatment follows the American Academy of Pediatrics guideline: behavior management for preschoolers, and FDA-approved stimulant or non-stimulant medication with school supports for older children, teens and adults.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Dr. Williams sees generalized anxiety in school-age children who worry about everything, in teens who cannot sleep, and in college students and young professionals who have carried the worry for years without a name for it. He separates it from ADHD, depression and medical causes before treating, and typically pairs cognitive behavioral therapy with medication only when symptoms are moderate to severe or therapy alone has not been enough.
Full guide to generalized anxiety disorder at Stedfast Psychiatry
Major Depressive Disorder
In children and teens, depression often presents as irritability, withdrawal and falling grades rather than sadness, and Dr. Williams screens for it in every evaluation. He uses the same rating scale at each visit to track progress, works alongside a therapist, and when medication is warranted favors FDA-approved options for the patient's age, with close follow-up during the first weeks of treatment.
Full guide to major depressive disorder at Stedfast Psychiatry
Adjustment Disorder and Life Transitions
Starting school, leaving home for college, the first job: Dr. Williams has built much of his practice around the moments when structure falls away and symptoms appear. His years in college mental health and as a medical school dean inform how he treats young adults facing a transition. He distinguishes an adjustment disorder from an emerging anxiety or mood disorder and plans ahead for the next transition rather than reacting after it.
Full guide to adjustment disorder and life transitions at Stedfast Psychiatry
Panic Disorder
Dr. Williams sees many first panic attacks in high school seniors and college freshmen, often after a visit to the emergency department for a suspected heart problem. He rules out caffeine, stimulant misuse, thyroid disease and substance use, explains what a panic attack is and is not, and treats with cognitive behavioral therapy and, when needed, an SSRI. He uses benzodiazepines rarely and briefly.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Dr. Williams worked in an outpatient adolescent autism clinic during his career at the University of South Carolina. He evaluates autistic children and teens for the co-occurring conditions that bring them to a psychiatrist, most often ADHD, anxiety and irritability, and he is careful to distinguish autism from ADHD when the two overlap. Medication, when used, targets specific symptoms and is coordinated with behavioral and school supports.
Full guide to autism spectrum disorder at Stedfast Psychiatry
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Defiance in a child is a symptom, not a diagnosis, and Dr. Williams looks for what is driving it: untreated ADHD, anxiety, depression, a learning disorder, trauma, or a family under strain. His work in juvenile justice settings and on an inpatient adolescent unit shaped a practical approach that leans on parent training in behavior management and treats any underlying condition before reaching for medication aimed at the behavior itself.
Full guide to oppositional defiant disorder at Stedfast Psychiatry
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
OCD often begins in childhood or adolescence and is frequently mistaken for anxiety, perfectionism or oppositional behavior. Dr. Williams asks about intrusive thoughts and rituals in every anxiety evaluation. He treats OCD in children and teens with exposure and response prevention therapy as the foundation, adding an SSRI that is FDA-approved for pediatric OCD when symptoms are moderate to severe, and he coordinates closely with the treating therapist.
Full guide to obsessive-compulsive disorder at Stedfast Psychiatry
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder in adolescents and young adults is both over- and under-diagnosed, and Dr. Williams approaches it with caution. He takes a careful family history, looks for distinct episodes rather than chronic irritability, and watches closely when an antidepressant or stimulant is started in a young person with a family history of bipolar illness. When the diagnosis is clear, treatment follows FDA-approved mood stabilizers and antipsychotics for the patient's age, with regular monitoring.
Schizophrenia
Dr. Williams spent 13 years on the Prisma Health Midlands Assertive Community Treatment team, caring for adults with serious mental illness, including schizophrenia, in the community. In his Stedfast practice he evaluates teens and young adults with early psychotic symptoms, where speed matters, and he manages established schizophrenia in adults with FDA-approved antipsychotic medication, metabolic monitoring, and coordination with family and community supports.
Educational content; a diagnosis requires an evaluation. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety is common in teens and college students and easy to miss, because the student who avoids is the one nobody notices. Dr. Williams asks directly about avoidance: skipped classes, eating alone, not joining anything. Cognitive behavioral therapy with exposure is the first-line treatment in his practice, with an SSRI added when symptoms are limiting school, work or relationships.
Full guide to social anxiety disorder at Stedfast Psychiatry