William Torres MS

William Torres is a Primary Therapist at Water Gap Wellness. 

During his early childhood, living in New York City, William completed the 5th grade but was unable to continue a traditional education due to unforeseen circumstances. He, however, was determined to become educated, learn about life, and find solutions to his short comings.  Ironically, he always felt he was being guided spiritually, felt a connection to humanity, and eager to assist others in the community.  

In 1994, William received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY.  He went on to earn a Master of Social Work (MSW), in 1996, from Syracuse University, with a concentration in Family Mental Health and Women’s Studies. 

After graduating from Syracuse University, William worked for Conifer Park, an inpatient treatment facility adjacent to the Adirondack Mountains in New York State, where he continued training as a substance abuse therapist.  During his tenure at Conifer Park, he was trained as a Detox Acupuncture Therapist and went on to develop programs to educate and treat women and men dealing with domestic violence and substance abuse.  It was then that John Torres (no relation), co-worker, and he became co-founders of El Camino Real, Inc., a program addressing women coping with addictions and chronic illnesses. John and he went on to add a men’s clinical program and consulted for the Whitney Young Program in Albany, NY. These experiences set the stage for what he realized was one element of his training missing with those coping with life’s circumstances and suffering with co-occurring disorders—Family and community. William went on to treat individuals and families in the capacity of a psychotherapist in conjunction to working as a crisis intervention clinician at a few hospitals in Massachusetts area.  

William’s career allowed him to see how substance abuse and mental illness impacted the family and community.  He traveled to Southwest Africa, where he studied and learned the culture and ways of the traditional Yoruba people.  He studied their complex religious values, medicinal interventions, and divination philosophies that encompassed an extended family structure.  William returned to the United States and published a journal paper entitled: GENDER STEREOTYPES: An Investigation into Dysfunctional Family Beliefs of Family and Communities and Indigenous Yoruba Practices of Ifa/Orisa Culture in Yoruba land and the New World.  William continues to work as a clinician, whose philosophies embraces Mind, Body, and Spirit.