Meet Migraine Advocate and Family Nurse Practitioner Dr. Karen A. Williams

Dr. Karen A. Williams DNP, FNP-BC has spent decades treating, advising, and advocating for people with migraine. She holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree and is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner. Dr. Williams has a Certification of Added Qualification in Headache Medicine (AQH) from the National Headache Foundation and is a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP).

She has over 20 years of experience in neurology and special expertise in working with veterans, who have a higher prevalence of migraine and other types of headaches than the general public. 

Dr. Williams serves as an advisor to CEFALY, helping to guide and inform our migraine education efforts. Here’s what you should know about her.

She advocates an integrative approach to headache management.

An integrative approach is one that considers the whole person: a patient’s mind, body, spirit and community. Integrative migraine treatment can include both conventional medicine and alternative, non-drug therapies, as well as lifestyle changes for migraine prevention.

She spent years working with veterans who have migraine.

Before Dr. Williams retired from federal service in April 2023, she was the Deputy Director for the Headache Center of Excellence (HCoE) at the Central Virginia Veterans Affairs Healthcare System facility, in Richmond, VA for three years. Prior to this Dr. Williams directed the Headache Clinic at the Central Texas Veterans Healthcare System, Temple TX for six years, after serving five years treating service members and Veterans at the Traumatic Brain Injury Program, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in Germany. 

Dr. Williams has received multiple commendations for her work with veterans, including a Superior Civilian Service Award for the development and execution of traumatic brain injury (TBI) education to providers and for care to those patients with a TBI at LRMC.  

While working at the VA, Dr. Williams was a member of the Office of Nursing Service Pain Committee, serving as a subject matter expert for alternative medicine and the use of acupuncture for pain reduction in the Veteran population.  Dr. Williams also served as the co-chair of the National HCoE education committee, coordinating and disseminating educational activities on headache management to Veterans and providers. Dr. Williams was on the work group which updated the VA/DoD clinical practice guidelines: “The Primary Care Management of Headache”, which were released in September 2023.

She’s a proponent of acupuncture for migraine, especially auricular acupuncture.

Dr. Williams completed a 300-hour medical acupuncture program in 2013 and has national certification in auricular acupuncture. She’s also certified as a Battlefield Acupuncture Instructor!  

Battlefield Acupuncture (BFA) and Battlefield Auricular Acupressure (BAA) are widely used within the Department of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Health Administration (VHA) for the treatment of pain. Both techniques involve needling, applying electrical stimulation or applying pressure to 5 specific points on the ear. The results of pain reduction, relaxation and reduction of anxiety can be seen within minutes and can last for days, without causing sustained side effects such as nausea, dizziness, and sleepiness that narcotics can cause. Dr. Williams has done extensive research and advocacy work on Battlefield Acupuncture for migraine and headache pain. 

She is dedicated to headache research and education.

Dr. Williams currently works with several national organizations to promote headache education. She has over 20 years of experience in public speaking in local, national and international venues, on health education and disease prevention programs. She has published multiple articles on concussion care and headache management, including auricular acupuncture, and continues to encourage and mentor fellow colleagues, in integrative health care for those with headache and chronic pain.