Amanda Yoder

"Everyone desires compassion, significance, and meaningful existence, and sometimes when life becomes complicated we all need a hand to hold and an ear to listen to us. Every living person deserves love and acceptance"-Amanda Yoder, M.A. LPC-intern

Specialties:

Child and Adolescent issues
Play Therapy
Child-Parent Relationship Therapy
Sandtray Therapy
Abusive Relationships
Counseling with Mindfulness

Services:

Individual Counseling
Play Therapy
Family Therapy
Couples Counseling
Child-Parent Relationship Therapy
Group Counseling

Amanda has the underlying passion to help individuals, children, and families find compassion for themselves and to learn new ways to cope with life and relationships. The counseling relationships she forges are built on honesty, compassion, and confidentiality. When conducting Play Therapy and Family Therapy services, Amanda is respectful to the confidentiality and concerns of both child and parent. Amanda uses her playful sense of humor and relaxed demeanor to engage children and allow them to feel safe enough to explore deeper emotional concerns through their play. When teaching the therapeutic skills of Child-Parent Relationship Therapy to parents/care-givers, Amanda again uses her playful sense of humor to guide parents towards more meaningful and positive interactions with their children. She uses story telling, play, and brainstorming to engage parents in the learning/therapeutic process.

When counseling adults and couples, Amanda utilizes information about childhood experiences, family of origin, and current personal concerns to help clients to be more self-compassionate and meet lifes’s difficulties in more constructive ways. She believes that all people strive for significance and acceptance and does her best to provided this atmosphere during each counseling session.

Amanda is certified in the state of Texas as a Licensed Professional Counselor Intern and holds a Masters of Professional Counseling, from CACREP accredited Texas State University located in San Marcos, Texas. She earned a Bachelors degree in Psychology and a Bachelors degree in Slavic Languages and Literature (emphasis in Russian Language) from The University of Kansas, located in Lawrence, Kansas.

Prior to becoming a therapist, Amanda spent thirteen years working with children in educational and home settings as a pre-school teacher, para-professional, care giver, and Nanny. Through her many years of working with children she became inspired to help children and families who were in emotional distress and needed encouragement, guidance, and hope. Amanda will be working towards becoming a Registered Play Therapist as well as continuing to find new and creative ways to reach out to parents having parenting difficulties.