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Looking for help with anxiety or trauma? Googling, researching, information-seeking, or what I fondly call “research-and-review” is a common expression of uncertainty, anxiety, and possibly a residue of trauma.
Brain and body-based somatic psychotherapy is additive. We keep up what works (e.g. information-gathering). And because an overused strength can become a liability, we identify and reinforce additional resources.
About Amanda
Somatic Therapist for Anxiety and Trauma in Mishawaka, Plymouth, and Indiana Online
Hello and welcome. I have been practicing therapy since 2015 and developing an expertise in healing trauma and the wounds of childhood that show up in our adult relationships today. I belong to a cohort of clinicians learning Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and seek regular consultation.
In-person in South Bend on Mondays and in Plymouth on Thursdays & Fridays
Online anywhere in Indiana on Tuesdays
Predictable weekly session times
350+ hours of clinical training in brain and body-based approaches
11 years practicing psychotherapy
7 years independently licensed
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I show up to sessions with warmth, curiosity and trust. I work with you to create new experiences within our session that can become resources for you outside of session. In constant collaboration, we create a therapy for you that challenges you to grow at the pace just right for your system.
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People I work with leave sessions with more clarity, access to strengths, and greater capacity for their day-to-day living.
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Schedule a free 15-minute phone or video consultation. I look forward to speaking with you.
Psychotherapy clients have noted my big facial expressions and soothing voice. I use these parts of myself along with my formal education, years of clinical work, and my time as a human to create a therapy that fosters your well-being.
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I use a somato-psycho-social approach incorporating and informed by:
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (M-BCT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills education
Motivational Interviewing (MI)
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Experiences and environments form and inform us. While your therapy will focus on you and the systems you move within, just like you, I show up informed and limited by my own experiences. Here I provide you with a window into my therapeutic foundations:
Roots in service and community and fervent self-determination (The College of William and Mary)
Value learning in a community and practicing from the position that we heal in the context of relationships (Psychoanalytic Education Center of the Carolinas)
Psychodynamic and systems orientation to clinical practice and persistent attention to the intersection of power and clinical work (Smith College School for Social Work)
Value community care and early intervention (Durham Early Head Start)
Value professional collaboration across different schools of practice and the incorporation of skills education into psychotherapy practice (Duke University Medical Center)
Somatic or brain and body-based therapeutic practice and the paradigm shift: recovery = embodiment (Embodied Recovery Institute, study with Linda Thai)
Principle-led and skillful mindful psychotherapy practice for trauma healing (Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, Levels 1 & 2 with Laia Jorba, LPC, PhD and Patrick Weeg, LCSW)
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In addition to my psychotherapy practice, Amanda Potter, LCSW, LLC:
I serve on the board of my local public library.
I am an active member in multiple clinical communities.
Peer Reviews
Amanda has a beautiful way of showing curiosity and supporting people in naming and understanding their own experience. A warm, authentic, and caring therapist, she is able to hold space for you - even when you don't know how to hold space for yourself.
—Melissa Forrow, LCSW, LAC
Amanda's profound self-awareness is a source of inspiration, fostering deep connections with those around her. Her commitment and patience are unwavering, allowing her clients to work through their issues. Amanda's use of body-based therapy, mindful awareness of emotions, and body sensations, coupled with her compassion and client-centered approach, create safe spaces not only for her clients but also for her colleagues.
—Vivian Hui, LCSW
Amanda is not only a deeply compassionate professional; but she demonstrates excellence in her dedication to furthering her training. We have shared clients in the past and I have always felt confident referring clients to her services. She grounds her work in connecting with clients and their needs by focusing on the whole person.
—Taylor Coats, LCSW
Amanda is warm and compassionate in her practice. While being curious, she creates and holds spaces for her clients to explore their true selves and exercise their own agency related to their own changes.
—Chieh-Yu Liao, PhD, HSPP
