Hi, I'm Amanda
I'm a Denver-based therapist working one-on-one with adults managing bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety, and with parents of teens and young adults navigating their child's mood disorder. I see clients in person in Wheat Ridge, CO, and online throughout Colorado and California. I've been doing this work for over 15 years, bringing both clinical expertise and lived experience, and here's how I got here.
What Led Me Here
I came to this work through several doors. The first was the body. I began teaching yoga in 2000 and watched students find balance and ease on the mat, then carry that steadiness into their minds and lives. Healing, I learned, isn't only something we can always think our way into.
I was living in Thailand when the 2004 tsunami hit, and I volunteered with communities rebuilding after losing nearly everything. I saw how different cultures and faith traditions make meaning of catastrophe, and it showed me that real support starts with honoring a person's own beliefs, rituals, and perspectives. It also planted a question I've followed ever since: what actually helps people heal?
Part of my answer comes from my own life. I live with bipolar II, and I know firsthand how exhausting it can be to ride mood cycles while trying to hold everything together. The right support and tools made a real difference for me, and I want others to have that too. That stability is possible.
I also come from a line of theater and creative people. Words aren't the only way in. Movement, art, and expressive work can reveal patterns we can't always name and open up new solutions.
Today, my work brings these threads together. I also use evidence-based approaches like Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT), and elements of EMDR, which offer practical, proven tools for managing emotions and stabilizing mood. Alongside them, I weave in mind-body and arts-based practices, because lasting change happens when insight, skills, and the body all work together. For more information, visit the My Approach page.
My background and credentials
I'm a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, licensed in both Colorado (#0001673) and California (#95115). Throughout my career, I've worked across a wide range of settings—elementary and middle schools, bereavement centers, assisted living facilities, community mental health, corporate environments, government sectors, research settings, and private practice. I've provided mental health first aid in the aftermath of catastrophic weather events, and I currently provide clinical supervision to pre-licensed therapists.
I hold a Master's degree in Counseling Psychology with a specialization in Expressive Arts Therapy from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) — a training that goes far beyond traditional talk therapy and can also be woven into it. I am also currently deepening my clinical training in two evidence-based approaches: Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT), a treatment specifically designed for mood disorders that helps stabilize daily rhythms and relationships, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which builds practical skills for managing intense emotions, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness.
I am a certified Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapist through the Integrative Psychiatry Institute — trained to offer Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP), including preparation and integration of any psychedelic experience. The science behind this work is compelling: psychedelics like ketamine can create a window of neuroplasticity — a period where the brain becomes more flexible and open to change — that, when paired with skilled psychotherapy, can lead to breakthroughs that years of traditional talk therapy alone may not achieve. For people who have tried everything and still feel stuck, this combination of medicine and therapy can open doors that may have felt permanently closed.
I am a certified yoga teacher, trained by Ana Forrest, and have been teaching groups and individuals since 2001. My relationship with body-based and contemplative practice runs deep — I spent time living in Southeast Asia, where I helped open a yoga studio and later entered a Buddhist monastery in Burma to formally study meditation and Buddhist philosophy. This isn't incidental to my clinical work. That immersive training is foundational to my understanding of the relationship among body, breath, mind, and emotional healing.
I am a member of the Climate Psychology Alliance and passionate about the emerging field of climate-aware therapy. I've spoken about eco-anxiety and climate grief on TEDx and have been featured in the Denver Post, 9News, and Colorado Newsline.
This blend of clinical training and hands-on experience—combining evidence-based methods with body-based, contemplative, and creative approaches — is a unique part of how I provide therapy.
What our work together looks like
Sessions are focused entirely on you — your history, your goals, your pace. You can show up exactly as you are, including confused, overwhelmed, or unsure where to start.
I work with the whole person: thoughts, feelings, body, and behavior. Some days that means untangling a pattern that's been running your life for years. Other days it's a breathing exercise, a creative prompt, or simply being heard in a way you haven't been before. Sometimes I'll suggest something structured to take home, like tracking your moods for a week or keeping notes on your sleep.
I listen carefully and read between the lines. I'll bring structure when you need it and space when you don't. What I want most is for you to leave our work knowing yourself more deeply — what you need, how to ask for it, how to build a life that actually feels like yours — and to see real change along the way.
Could we work well together?
Perhaps! If you've landed here, something brought you — and that something matters. Listen to it. This page is my attempt to give you a real sense of who I am and how I approach therapy, so you can decide if I might be the right person to work with.
Let's talk
Reaching out can be hard. I want to make it as easy as possible. I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation where you can share what's going on, and we can see whether we're a good fit. No pressure, no commitment.
Start feeling better and have more energy.
Reach out today. I’m here for you.