Nancy Lambert, PsyD
Clinical Director
Dr. Nancy Freitas Lambert joined Serenity Knolls as Clinical Director in November 2022, bringing with her over 25 years of experience helping people recover from addiction and trauma. Nancy studied Sociology at UCSB before going on to receive her Masters in Counseling Psychology from Dominican University. She then completed her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the Wright Institute in 2005. During her pre- and post-doctoral studies, she interned with the Marin County Department of Mental Health at Point Reyes Station serving dual-diagnosis populations. Fascinated by this work, Nancy also took on challenging mental health and addiction cases and supervised associate therapists for the Ritter Center in San Rafael.
This foundational experience working with long-term addiction, adverse childhood experiences, and trauma helped shape Nancy’s professional path, leading her toward a deeper understanding of 12-Step recovery, and how it could be combined with many other treatment methods. Addiction and co-occurring mental health disorders such as complex PTSD, depression, and anxiety became specialties for Nancy over the last 20 years as she applied her knowledge both in program settings and private practice.
Throughout her career, Nancy’s fundamental belief in community support has carried her to many positions of service leadership. She spent 3 years on the board for Marin Services for Women, as well as another 6 years on the West Marin Senior Services Board. Additionally, Nancy has served in Clinical Director positions for St. Vincent’s School for Boys and other adolescent programs in and around San Rafael. In each role, Nancy committed herself to delivering compassionate, integrative care for patients with substance issues, extreme trauma, and complex PTSD.
In 2010 Nancy became an EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association) Certified Equine Specialist and, alongside her sister, co-founded Wonder Equine Therapy, which provides intensive, 2-day clinics blending expressive arts with equine-assisted therapy. This innovative mix of treatment modalities is designed to help individuals, couples, and families develop a deeper understanding of how trauma is stored in the body and begin to heal. Nancy’s work was recognized at the international EAGALA conference in Brussels where she presented a paper on the success of Equine therapy in addressing trauma and recovery.
Nancy believes that the correlation between severe substance abuse, emotional distress, and physical discomfort is undeniable. She was drawn to Serenity Knolls by their extended stay program that focuses on evidence-based treatment and client-centered care. Her intention is to continue helping The Knolls skillfully blend 12-Step recovery with modern modalities, such as Expressive Arts, DBT, EMDR, Somatic Therapy, Equine Assisted Therapy, CBT, Client Centered Therapy, and Internal Family Systems. By offering trauma informed care in a residential setting, she hopes to help patients address the needs underlying their addiction and develop a capacity for self-regulation, mindfulness, and body centered awareness.
