New to Grow
Hi, I’m Amanda Hanna, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Clinical Substance Abuse Counselor, and Perinatal Mental Health Certified therapist. I work with adults navigating anxiety, life transitions, motherhood, relationship stress, and identity shifts. My approach is warm, collaborative, and rooted in empathy, humor, and genuine connection. I believe therapy should feel like a safe space where you can show up exactly as you are—without judgment. Together, we work to better understand what’s keeping you stuck, build healthier coping strategies, and help you reconnect with your own resilience, clarity, and inner wisdom.
During our first session, my goal is to help you feel comfortable, supported, and heard. We’ll spend time getting to know what brings you to therapy, the challenges you’re currently facing, and what you hope to gain from our work together. I’ll ask questions about your personal history, relationships, stressors, and any patterns you’ve noticed so I can better understand your experiences and what support may be most helpful. The first session is also an opportunity for you to ask questions and get a feel for whether we’re a good fit. Therapy is a collaborative process, and building trust is an important part of that. There is no pressure to have everything figured out—we simply start where you are and work together from there.
One of my greatest strengths as a therapist is creating a space where clients feel genuinely safe, understood, and comfortable being fully themselves. I value the therapeutic relationship deeply and believe real growth happens when clients feel both supported and gently challenged. I bring warmth, authenticity, humor, and compassion into the work, helping therapy feel approachable rather than intimidating. I am especially skilled in helping clients navigate anxiety, motherhood, life transitions, relationship stress, and identity shifts. I help clients move beyond simply managing symptoms by increasing self-awareness, recognizing unhelpful patterns, strengthening boundaries, and reconnecting with their own resilience and inner wisdom. My approach is collaborative, practical, and insight-oriented, with a focus on creating meaningful and lasting change rather than quick fixes.
I am best positioned to support adults navigating anxiety, life transitions, motherhood, relationship stress, and identity shifts. Many of my clients are high-functioning individuals who appear to “have it all together” on the outside but internally feel overwhelmed, stuck, or disconnected from themselves. They may struggle with people-pleasing, perfectionism, burnout, self-doubt, or difficulty setting boundaries. I work especially well with women adjusting to major life transitions such as pregnancy, postpartum, new motherhood, career changes, divorce, or shifts in relationships and self-identity. I also support clients processing relational wounds, stress, depression, and the emotional weight of trying to meet everyone else’s needs while neglecting their own. My ideal clients are often seeking more than symptom relief—they want deeper understanding, emotional clarity, healthier relationships, and a stronger connection to themselves. They are looking for a safe, warm, and collaborative space where they can feel understood, challenged when needed, and supported in creating meaningful, lasting change.
Humanistic
I approach therapy through a humanistic lens rooted in empathy, authenticity, and genuine connection. I believe each person already holds the capacity for growth, healing, and resilience, and my role is to provide a safe, supportive space where that can unfold. I value the therapeutic relationship deeply and work to create an environment where clients feel seen, heard, and understood without judgment. In practice, I integrate warmth, humor, mindfulness, and collaboration to help clients explore patterns, life transitions, anxiety, depression, relational concerns, and identity shifts—especially during motherhood and the perinatal period. Together, we work to increase self-awareness, strengthen coping skills, and reconnect clients with their inner wisdom so they can move forward with greater confidence and clarity.
Trauma-Focused CBT
I use Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) to support clients in understanding how past experiences may continue to impact thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and relationships. Trauma can often show up as anxiety, hypervigilance, people-pleasing, difficulty trusting others, perfectionism, or feeling emotionally overwhelmed. TF-CBT helps clients make sense of these patterns while building healthier ways to cope and heal. In practice, I provide a safe, supportive, and paced environment where clients can process difficult experiences without feeling retraumatized or overwhelmed. I help clients identify trauma-related thought patterns, develop emotional regulation skills, strengthen coping strategies, and rebuild a greater sense of safety and self-trust. I often integrate mindfulness, somatic awareness, and self-compassion alongside CBT techniques to support healing in a way that feels grounded, collaborative, and empowering.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
I incorporate mindfulness-based therapy to help clients slow down, increase self-awareness, and reconnect with the present moment. Many clients come to therapy feeling overwhelmed by anxiety, stress, racing thoughts, or the emotional demands of life transitions and motherhood. Mindfulness helps create space between thoughts, emotions, and reactions so clients can respond with greater intention rather than from patterns of overwhelm or self-criticism. In practice, I use grounding techniques, nervous system regulation, somatic awareness, breathwork, and self-compassion to help clients better understand their emotional experiences and strengthen coping skills. I often integrate mindfulness with other approaches to support anxiety, depression, relational stress, burnout, and perinatal mental health, helping clients feel more centered, resilient, and connected to themselves.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help clients better understand the connection between their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Many clients come to therapy feeling stuck in patterns of anxiety, self-doubt, people-pleasing, perfectionism, or negative self-talk. CBT helps bring awareness to these patterns and creates opportunities for meaningful change. In practice, I support clients in identifying unhelpful thought patterns, challenging maladaptive beliefs, and developing healthier coping strategies that feel realistic and sustainable. I often integrate CBT with mindfulness, self-compassion, and a person-centered approach to help clients manage anxiety, depression, life transitions, relational stress, and identity shifts. My goal is to help clients build insight, emotional resilience, and greater confidence in navigating everyday challenges.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
I use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help clients develop a healthier relationship with difficult thoughts, emotions, and life experiences rather than feeling controlled by them. Many clients struggle with anxiety, perfectionism, people-pleasing, self-doubt, and the pressure to “fix” uncomfortable emotions. ACT helps create space for these experiences while focusing on what matters most. In practice, I support clients in building psychological flexibility by increasing mindfulness, self-compassion, and acceptance while identifying personal values and committed action steps. Rather than eliminating discomfort, we work on learning how to move forward alongside it with greater intention and clarity. I often integrate ACT when working with anxiety, life transitions, motherhood, relational stress, burnout, and identity work to help clients feel more grounded, empowered, and aligned with the life they want to create.