Early in my career and education I was primarily interested in substance abuse treatment and began in 2008 doing counseling, leading groups, and teaching classes at the Clitheroe Center in their residential program. Realizing that many of the problems that led to adult dysfunction happened much younger in life, I took a job at a residential treatment center for teens at North Star’s Palmer Residential Treatment Center. There I began to focus on a variety of symptoms and disorders including mood and behavioral disorders as well as family conflict, trauma and attachment issues. During this time, I began to develop my own private practice and started to work with younger kids and families as well as with diverse adult populations. I now work across the lifespan from ages 5 and up. In 2015 I began to focus exclusively on developing my private practice, Lighted Path Therapy Services, and have partnered with many exciting clinicians.

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My model of therapy relies heavily on the relationship between therapist and clients as I believe this is the primary agent of change. I’m also trained in some of the most effective treatment approaches available including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Insight Oriented/Person Centered Therapy, Eye Movement De-sensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Solution Focused Therapy. I focus on working with individuals, families and couples on a variety of issues from trauma, anxiety, depression, addictions of all types, attachment struggles, and relationship problems.

As a lifelong Alaskan, I enjoys camping, hiking, hunting, and kayaking in my free time.

Credentialed as a Registered Play Therapist (RPT), Master Addiction Counselor (MAC), & Certified EMDR Therapist, Amanda delights in using strengths-based interventions to enhance each person’s healing journey. Incorporating family attachment interventions, the work of Bruce Perry, and core components of positive psychology, her approach fosters beliefs of purpose, encourages deeper connection to self and others, increases capability, and builds the courage essential to meet life’s challenges. Outside of the playroom, Amanda enjoys investing in relationships and walks with her Redbone Coonhound and Nigerian Dwarf goats.

My holistic counseling style is driven by my belief that individual wellness has far-reaching, inter-generational, and even global effects. Connecting with nature, each other, and fostering mind-body awareness are practices I encourage to help clients find balance in our fast-paced, technology-driven world. My practice is informed by professional experience in domestic violence, youth mentorship (both in a detention center and in the broader community), research, and integrated care at a medical clinic (with emphasis on underserved populations). My passion for world travel and experience teaching ESL allows me to appreciate diversity and consider how cultural factors may be influencing my clients. My professional project at APU involved using photography as a healing modality, and my honors project at the University of Calgary focused on body image. I am also a registered yoga teacher (RYT-200).

One of my current passions is maternal mental health (prenatal or postpartum), and I hold a Maternal Mental Health Certificate from Postpartum Support International.  Other areas of focus are addressing trauma, adjusting to life’s transitions, using yoga and mindfulness to improve the mind-body connection, and treating depression and anxiety. I utilize EMDR, CBT, solution-focused, person-centered, and creative therapies, among others. Additionally, I help clients evaluate how food, sleep, exercise and technology use may be influencing their mental health. I work primarily with adults and teens.

I stay inspired through outdoor adventures, travel, exercise, reading uplifting books, and spending time with my kids, other family, and friends.

I believe in the power of the individual and that, with the right guidance and support, the answers to our greatest challenges are already within us. My approach to counseling focuses on the individual’s ability to recognize the strengths they have, and the further developing of those strengths in order to meet the client’s greater needs. We live in a wide world. In this digital age, where information travels at the speed of thought, we can often feel disconnected, overwhelmed, and even powerless. It can feel as though a great storm is upon us. And, while there is so much we cannot control in the world around us, I believe each individual has the power and ability weather the storm. Not only can we survive, we can thrive.

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I began my career in Arkansas, providing case management to adolescents and teens in residential treatment. In February 2010, I moved to Kodiak, AK and began working for the Kodiak Area Native Association as a Behavioral Health Aide and specialized in substance abuse treatment to the surrounding Alaska Native villages. In the fall of 2011, I moved to Anchorage to begin graduate school. During this period I worked for the Little Tykes program at Anchorage Community Mental Health Services, working with children ages 3 to 6 who were designated as Severely Emotionally Disturbed or at risk of becoming so. After completing my Master’s in Social Work in 2015, I provided clinical assessment and crisis intervention for both adolescents and adults at Providence Alaska Medical Center’s Psychiatric Emergency Department in Anchorage. In 2018, I transitioned to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center to assist with the planning and development of their new Behavioral Health Department. There, I serve as a psychiatric/behavioral health consult to the physicians. I work directly with patients experiencing severe depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, or symptoms of psychosis to identify develop an appropriate plan of care. Within this setting, my therapeutic interventions draw heavily upon Behavioral Psychology and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Needing freedom from anxiety loops and old traumas?

Our work will bring healing so you can become your best self now! I provide telehealth services only.

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∙ Tired of just surviving each day?

∙ Feeling stuck and unable to escape the pain, dysfunction and trauma of your past?  

∙ Awake all night and can’t shut off your racing thoughts?

∙ Are you struggling under the weight of imposter syndrome, social anxiety, the regrets of yesterday and anxiety about the future?

∙ Have you experienced loss and are having trouble letting go?

∙ Want to overcome the perfectionism, procrastination, paralysis cycle?

Fear, anxiety, and trauma can leave you feeling trapped in your own mind prison.

I can guide you towards increased self-confidence and clarity.

I’ll help you:

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∙ identify and process through those feelings,

∙ stop your negative thought cycles,

∙ learn emotional regulation and mindfulness and

∙ help you lighten the heavy load you’ve been carrying.

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With specialized training in using the creative process to explore the conscious and unconscious, discovering feelings, and addressing experiences where there are no words, I utilize tools with a strengths-based, research-based, person-centered approach. I specialize in working with adult professionals in their 30s and 40s as well as older adolescents/young adults progressing to the adult world and have been an LCSW for over 10 years. I am a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, trained in EMDR and I use my skills as an intuitive empath to tailor my style to meet each client’s individual needs. I employ a combination of CBT, EMDR, Expressive Arts therapies, EFT, mindfulness techniques and other person-centered therapies.

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You don’t need to do this alone.

Prioritize yourself and your mental health.

I was born and raised in rural Northern Iowa and made Alaska my home in 2017. I graduated with my Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa in 2014, and received my Master of Social Work from St. Ambrose University in Davenport, IA in 2016. Since 2012, I've worked in a variety of settings which include outpatient mental health clinics, inpatient residential treatment centers, schools, home-based services, and provided mental health services in outdoor environments.

I am a trauma-informed, strengths-based therapist who believes a collaborative, trust-based approach to therapy is an essential part of the healing process. My style is person-centered, non-judgmental, encouraging, warm, humorous, authentic, collaborative and occasionally challenging.

Primarily, I work with adult clients to assist them in navigating a variety of challenges such as past traumatic experiences, PTSD, life transitions, depression, anxiety, dissociation, grief and loss, anger, social isolation, issues related to self-confidence, communication barriers, and relationship challenges.

I take an integrative approach to therapy which incorporates my experience and training using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution Focused Approach, Motivational Interviewing, Mindfulness, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

Coming soon...

I am passionate about providing a safe and welcoming environment for your child or teen to process feelings, learn about themselves, and develop the tools to grow into their full potential. I primarily work with children ages 4-18 but will accept younger children, toddlers, adults, and family therapy clients on a case-by-case basis.

I specialize in working with anxiety, attachment, anger/self-regulation, ADHD, self-harming/suicidal thoughts and behaviors, trauma, and family dynamics. I’m an LGBTQIA+ affirming clinician and believe in helping youth explore all the different parts that make them who they are in a safe and supportive environment.

In addition, I love working alongside parents who are ready to learn and grow with their child and believe that the key to healthy, well-adjusted children begins in a healthy, well-adjusted home environment. I’ll take care to spend time providing education to parents and youth in order to help them connect and grow as a family.

I graduated with a M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of West Alabama. I’m an EMDR trained and CAMS certified clinician who also incorporates somatic processing, play, art, and music into sessions. After traveling the country in my 20s, I settled in Alaska in 2013, where I live in the MatSu Valley with three dogs, three cats, and my family. In my free time, I love getting outdoors, art, music, reading, and working out.