Unearth the root causes and
heal your psyche, body, and relationships.
Hi, I'm Amanda, a Clinical Mind-Body Therapist and Trauma Specialist. I have a track record of helping people who were previously discouraged in years of unsuccessful therapy finally unlock their pathway to healing.
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I support the following groups:
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families and couples striving to break free from years of repetitive stress
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persons with trauma who've been discouraged by unsuccessful mainstream therapy
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persons with chronic medical conditions and illness who wish to reduce their symptoms and reclaim vitality
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persons trying to reinvent themselves amid midlife crisis or sickness
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In our work together, you'll be supported with clinically effective approaches to help you identify the origins and causes of dysfunction and heal at the root.
"Why does my struggle keep coming back?"
World leading psych expert, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, has said repeatedly, "Very little of what we have learned about the brain has made it’s way into psychiatry or psychotherapy ... The system of the brain most affected by trauma is being completely ignored by Western psychology and psychiatry - except that we give people drugs, and these drugs don’t really train the brain to do things properly. They have a suppressant effect on our natural capacity to heal." ​
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If you've tried mainstream approaches to healing, but struggled to see results, it may be because industry norms prioritize symptom-suppression over healing at the root. ​
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Most of the clients I support had been discouraged for decades by ineffective conventional approaches before working with me. But in our sessions, they were finally able to transform chronic health conditions, end repetitive relationship struggles, and heal from trauma symptoms. That's because we strive to understand the origins of dysfunction and work on transforming the problem by healing the root of it.
"How do we unearth the root causes?"
These three aspects of self are overlooked by conventional interventions, but they are at the root of dysfunction in your psyche, body, and relationships:
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1. The unconscious mind is where your hidden beliefs about your value, your perception of safety and danger, and your sense of belonging reside.
These beliefs form when your brain is in a theta-wave state. From ages 2-6, you were in theta almost all the time, which is why the energetics of your home life and the relationship dynamics you observed there become the blueprint for your later life experiences.
You also enter a theta state during shocking life events or unexpected change, causing you to form life-altering beliefs during times of heightened stress or crisis.
2. The beliefs you carry (even ones you're unaware of) govern the way your brain interprets information. That interpretation causes you to experience emotions. Those emotions create a cascade of chemical responses in the body. These chemicals govern the rhythm of your heart, breath, digestion, blood flow and they impact the overall function of your body's organs and systems. Your psyche and body function as a unit. There is no separation.
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3. Scientific research has proven that trauma, even that which you do not remember, causes measurable changes in your brain and body. This impacts your relationship with yourself and others, and can play a significant role in sickness. To release the damaging effects of trauma, we must support your psyche, body, and relationships as a connected whole.
By exploring these key parts of self, you can unearth the origins of dysfunction and begin to heal at the root. ​​
About Amanda
I'm a Clinical Mind-Body Therapist and Trauma Specialist. While working in Chicago's health care sector, I observed the link between mental and physical health. I helped dialysis clinics improve patient outcomes by implementing mind-body education and depression management services. I was later discouraged by industry norms that prioritized profit over impact. I left in 2013 to volunteer in the Peace Corps in South Africa. ​
That's when I met David Patient, one of the first people to be diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Doctors told him he had 6 months to live, and there was nothing that could save him. But David pioneered his own health plans and lived another 34 years. He co-authored the book, The Healer Inside You, and was my mentor from 2013-2017 until he passed away from other causes. While in South Africa, I trained with David and his colleague Neil Orr, a psycho-neuro immunologist, who were consultants to the United Nations.
I later entered a 10-year mentorship with a body-centered psychologist and studied with the world's leading experts on trauma in Dr. Bessel van der Kolk's Traumatic Stress Studies Certificate program. I stay up-to-date on the latest psych research by attending classes through the National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine. I also complete ongoing courses with Pat Ogden's Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute and offerings by Dr. Peter Levine.
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Personally, I've experienced my own suffering, and healed from adult onset asthma, IBS, and complex trauma. Because I know trauma and sickness intimately, I'm committed to helping people breakthrough - even when nothing else worked.​​ My clients have unlocked their healing pathway even after decades of being discouraged by unsuccessful conventional treatment.
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I operate independently of any institution or licensure, which enables me to serve people who feel their progress has been limited by conventional protocols. ​It's my honor to help people create new chapters in which their symptoms do not define them.
