Dr. Amber Gardner, LPC, ALMFT, NCC
Dr. Amber Gardner is a Clinical Mental Health Counseling professor at Walden University. She is also Affiliate Faculty at Northwestern University and has taught at Adler University, Touro University and Governors State University.
Dr. Gardner earned her doctorate from Governors State University (GSU) in Counselor Education and Supervision. She also has two master’s degrees from GSU, one in Counseling with a concentration in Marriage and Family Therapy and the other in Communications and Training. Dr. Gardner is a licensed professional counselor and an Associate Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. In addition to teaching, Dr. Gardner has a thriving private practice in the Chicagoland area, where she provides therapy to adults, teens, children, couples, and families. Dr. Gardner has a solution-based approach and loves helping others recognize the power within through positivity and encouragement.
Dr. Gardner has presented at several conferences and participated in panel discussions on black nihilism, hopelessness, parenting, sexual abuse, family, and the impact of COVID-19 on mental health. In addition, she has written a parenting blog to help parents navigate the challenges of child-rearing. She has also developed courses on Child and Adolescent Counseling, Couples and Family Therapy, and Research and Program Evaluation. Dr. Gardner’s passion and areas of expertise are the power of hope and parenting, as she recognizes the positive impact that a supportive, loving, and invested parent can have on a child. Her dissertation, entitled “The Correlation Between Hopelessness in Parents and Hopelessness in Children,” focused on the connection between parent and child attributional styles. Dr. Gardner’s research interests also include black nihilism, parenting, and hope as a resilience factor.
Dr. Gardner has been happily married for over 30 years to her husband, Dr. Juan Gardner, Sr., a high school principal. They have two adult children, Dr. Ashley Cae Gardner and Juan Hayes Gardner II.
Email: agardner@family-institute.org
