Amanda Richardson, LPC-Associate

I earned my dual B.A. in Psychology and Cognitive Science from Case Western Reserve University and I have an M.A. in General Psychology, as well as an M.S. in Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling from Thomas University. I use strategies from many different perspectives and techniques to tailor treatment to the individual. I am working toward specialty certification in trauma and other related approaches. My work is heavily focused on helping you understand and cultivate a safe connection with your body and mind, so that the two are no longer working in opposition. I believe in fostering a felt sense of safety in my counseling, engaging in both empathic listening and corrective emotional experiences in order to help you achieve the healing you need, at the pace that you need. I am understanding, caring, knowledgeable, and meet people where they are at. Supervised by Amanda Smith, LPC-S.

I believe that change is possible for everyone and that the human brain is an exceedingly powerful machine geared toward survival, which, surprisingly, may not always benefit our mental health. I believe that mental health issues are complex and arise from multiple factors in each individual's life, from genetics, to environment, to interpersonal relationships and social learning. I think that a person's early life and relationships are influential in the way they develop beliefs about themselves, others, and the world, and that those early relationships often lay the groundwork for how they relate to people in the future. Learned behavior and environment can be just as important, if not more so, than genetics in mental health. With this in mind, that means people can unlearn the unhealthy or faulty behaviors they learned in their early life and replace them with healthy behaviors. I ensure that my office is a safe space for LGBTQIA+ persons and is free from discrimination.