LPC, 12 years of experience
I’m Amanda Gilchrist, a licensed professional counselor who specializes in helping individuals navigate depression, anxiety, life transitions, and trauma. My approach is person-centered, meaning I focus on you—your story, your needs, and your goals—and tailor therapy to fit where you are and where you want to go. I earned my Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and have worked across both public and private sectors in South Carolina, supporting people through crisis response, trauma-informed care, care coordination, and behavioral health integration. Those experiences shaped my passion for creating safe spaces where people can heal, grow, and rediscover their sense of purpose. Today, I bring that same dedication into private practice, walking alongside clients as they move toward hope and lasting change. Specialties: Trauma, EMDR, and Women’s Issues
In our first session, we’ll slow things down and simply focus on you—what brought you here, what you’re carrying, and what you hope to find in therapy. I won’t push you to share more than you’re ready for. My goal is to listen, understand, and start mapping out a path that feels right for you. You’ll leave with a sense of direction, and hopefully, a little relief that you don’t have to hold everything alone anymore.
I show up as both human and therapist. I’m not here to “fix” you, but to walk with you and help you find the strength and clarity you may not realize you already have. Clients often tell me they feel truly seen, and that I strike the right balance of empathy and gentle challenge. My background across trauma work, crisis response, and care systems allows me to see the big picture while tailoring therapy to your unique story.
If you’ve found your way here, chances are you’re tired of carrying the weight of things that feel too heavy to manage on your own. Maybe you’ve been stuck in the same patterns, battling anxiety, feeling disconnected in your relationships, or just plain exhausted from holding it all together. You might look “fine” to the outside world, but inside you know something needs to change. I’m here to walk with you—not forever, but for as long as you need support to heal, grow, and reconnect with yourself. My job is to help you untangle what feels overwhelming, give you tools that actually work, and remind you of the strength that’s already in you. One of my biggest goals is for you to eventually “fire” me—because you’ll no longer need me in the same way. You’ll have what you need to move forward with more freedom, peace, and confidence.
Sometimes old wounds or painful experiences don’t stay in the past. They show up in your body and emotions like it just happened yesterday. With EMDR, I walk with you through those memories in a way that helps them lose their grip, so they don’t keep running the show. It’s about creating space for your story to feel lighter and less overwhelming.
Life pulls us in a hundred directions. Mindfulness gives us a way to pause, breathe, and come back to the present moment. In our work, I’ll bring in simple practices to help you notice what’s going on inside without judgment, so you can find steadiness even when things feel chaotic.
For many people, faith is a source of strength, comfort, and direction. If it’s part of your life, we’ll weave it into the work we do together. That might look like prayer, scripture, or simply making room for your spiritual perspective to be part of your healing and growth.
The way we first learned to love, connect, and feel safe often shapes how we show up in relationships today. If those early patterns left you feeling insecure, unseen, or not enough, we’ll explore that together. My role is to help you untangle those old patterns and build new, healthier ways of relating—with yourself and the people who matter to you.
At the core of my practice is relationship. I don’t come in as the “expert” on your life—you are. My job is to listen deeply, create a safe space, and support you as you figure out what healing and change looks like for you.