(she/her)
New to Grow
Hi! I'm Amanda, and I've been working with clients in therapy since 2020. I'm originally from Hawai'i and now live in southern Utah. I love working with folks who need support navigating anxiety, depression, relationship issues, and trauma work. I believe having a great connection and a strong therapeutic relationship is essential to a meaningful and successful therapy journey. Outside of work, I enjoy making crafts, playing video games, watching movies, and visiting my local farmers market!
A first session with me usually involves asking a lot of questions, checking in on any anxieties or questions about the therapy process, and getting to know you by chatting about hobbies, interests, and identities. I'm open to answering questions you may have about me and aim to build a connection with you in the first session. My goal at the end of the first session to help you feel hopeful and calmer than you came in initially feeling.
It can be daunting to start or resume therapy with a new therapist. So I try my best to create a strong therapeutic relationship with my clients from the first session onward. Being in therapy myself and doing the work that I do, I know this is hard work, but it’s so meaningful and transformative. I find that a balance of having compassion and challenging my clients has been most helpful for those I work with. Approaches I also find useful are biopsychosocial, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), trauma-informed therapy, and parts therapy or Internal Family Systems (IFS).
I work best with older teens and young adults clients who need support navigating concerns such as anxiety, depression, life transitions, and relationship issues. I also work best with those who are open to diving into trauma work, even at a low level of readiness, and with those who are interested in building a strong therapeutic relationship with their therapist.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
I like to incorporate value-driven action. value clarification, "dropping anchors", or ACE formula in session with clients.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I like to incorporate cognitive restructuring, decastrophizing, and behavioral experiments in sessions with my clients.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
I often incorporate the IFS concept of parts by having clients view themselves as parts to aid us in clarifying and organizing complex emotions, maladaptive behaviors, and impact of past trauma/adverse experiences in our therapy discussions. Along with using the concept of core self to better understand themselves and identifying a sense of grounding or emotional safety. I also use IFS to help clients view themselves in a non-judgmental or self-compassionate way.