Dr. Ariel Lewis, LCPC

Dr. Ariel Lewis, LCPC, is the founder and clinical director of Shades of Insight Therapy, a Maryland practice serving women of color in person in Laurel and virtually statewide. Since 2013, she has provided evidence-based, person-centered therapy for grief, race-based trauma, anxiety, depression, and interpersonal difficulties. A Maryland Board-approved clinical supervisor, she also trains the next generation of licensed clinicians. Dr. Lewis holds a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from The George Washington University, and has spoken to audiences of up to 800 people nationally and internationally on race-based trauma, historical trauma, and workplace culture.

Dr. Ariel Lewis, LCPC, is the founder and clinical director of Shades of Insight Therapy, a Maryland practice offering in-person sessions in Laurel and virtual care statewide, built specifically to serve women of color.

Since 2013, Dr. Lewis has provided evidence-based, person-centered therapy to adult and adolescent clients in community-based and private practice settings, helping them navigate grief and loss, race-based trauma, anxiety and depression, and interpersonal difficulties with clinical rigor and genuine empathy.

She earned her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from The George Washington University, where her doctoral research, “Looking Back, Moving Forward,” examined how historical trauma and ongoing racism continue to shape African American communities today. She also holds an M.A. in Psychology from Catholic University of America and a B.S. from Bowie State University.

A Maryland Board-approved clinical supervisor, Dr. Lewis trains and supervises the next generation of licensed clinicians with the same care she brings to client work. As a speaker and consultant, she has addressed audiences of 20 to 800 people nationally and internationally, translating clinical insight into practical guidance organizations can act on.

Dr. Ariel Lewis, LCPC, is a licensed and board-certified psychotherapist based in Maryland, and the founder and clinical director of Shades of Insight Therapy — a practice built specifically to serve women of color, offering in-person sessions in Laurel and virtual care statewide.

Since 2013, Dr. Lewis has provided evidence-based, individual therapy to adult and adolescent clients in both community-based and private practice settings. Her approach is person-centered and integrative, and she helps clients navigate grief and loss, race-based trauma, anxiety and depression, and interpersonal difficulties — grounded in clinical expertise and genuine empathy for the full context of each client's life.

Dr. Lewis's doctoral research, “Looking Back, Moving Forward: A Phenomenological Investigation of African American Millennials' Views on Historical Trauma,” examined how African American and Black people are shaped by both the traumas of the past and ongoing racism in the present — and the roles that grief, coping, and ethnic identity play in how today's African Americans process historical trauma. She continues to build on this research, exploring how trauma has shaped the progression of Black people in the U.S., alongside the resilience they've built along the way.

She earned her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from The George Washington University in May 2020, building on an M.A. in Psychology from Catholic University of America and a B.S. from Bowie State University.

A Maryland Board-approved clinical supervisor, Dr. Lewis trains and supervises the next generation of licensed clinicians, bringing the same rigor and responsibility to supervision that she brings to direct client care.

Beyond the therapy room, Dr. Lewis is a sought-after speaker and consultant, translating clinical insight into practical guidance for organizations and communities. She has addressed audiences of 20 to 800 people, domestic and international, on topics including race-based trauma, historical trauma, and inclusive workplace culture — helping rooms full of people leave not just informed, but equipped to act.