Amy Matthews, MS, LCPC, CADC, NCC

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Everyone needs help sometimes.  Life comes with challenges and finding support is important in order to face them, especially when the challenges feel like more than we can handle on our own.  I believe that every person has the strength they need to face these challenges with the right support in place. I am here to offer whatever is needed: a safe place to freely speak your mind without judgment, a chance to be understood, an ally to look at situations and options, a companion to offer new ideas and perspectives.

I want to create a safe place that is neurodiversity affirming, queer affirming, body diversity affirming, kink affirming.  My hope is for every individual to be able to feel accepted, supported and validated. I believe the people I work with and that your experience is what it is, you are not required to prove it. Instead we work to understand how these experiences have shaped you. My approach is strengths-based; instead of focusing on perceived deficits, I find it is helpful to identify and build up the healthy traits we already have as well as to increase self-compassion–learning to offer ourselves grace and understanding.

I have been in the counseling field since 2006 and have worked in many different settings with a diverse group of people.  I have experience working with a wide variety of issues, including: depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and borderline personality disorder.  

I am part of a neurodiverse family and enjoy offering neurodiverse affirming therapy to autistic adults, their allistic partners and to parents who are trying to figure out how to best support their neurodiverse kids. 

 I offer queer affirming counseling to the LGTBQIA+ community and have an interest in helping to explore experiences related to gender, sexuality and living in a world that often lacks understanding.  

I also love working with women to explore issues that disproportionately affect women’s lives: mental/emotional load, gender disparity, body image and acceptance, and parenting issues. I have a strong interest working with body diversity, body neutrality, exploring anti-fat bias, and learning to accept the body you have and what that means in this world.

Having previously worked in a recovery community for 10 years, I also love supporting individuals facing their addictions and working towards recovery, whether alcohol, drug, gambling, food or other process addictions.