Amy Johnson, MFT Intern

Are you struggling to find where to start with therapy? Is the weight of uncertainty preventing you from seeking the help you deserve?

 

Meet Amy Johnson, an insightful and dedicated Marriage and Family Therapy Intern who understands this struggle, and is equipped to guide you on your healing journey. She will honor your lived experiences, and listen to your stories. She brings an individualized, systemic approach to therapy, leaning heavily on attachment theory, emotionally-focused methodologies, narrative storytelling therapy, and an array of strengths-based systemic theories. Her treatment philosophy rests on a foundation of understanding and empathy; she helps clients contextualize their challenges without placing blame or judgment.

 

Particularly passionate about assisting families, couples, and children, Amy’s therapeutic style creates an environment where clients feel seen, heard, and validated. A cornerstone of her therapeutic belief is honoring each individual's lived experiences. Amy firmly believes in the inherent strengths, resilience, and transformative power within each of us. Rather than positioning herself as the expert, Amy views her role as a guide. She celebrates the fact that you, the client, are the true expert of your own life.

 

Through a collaborative process, therapy with Amy becomes a sanctuary for expressing a broad spectrum of experiences, turning life's challenges into insightful revelations about oneself and their relationships with others. She's deeply committed to helping clients shape an authentic self-identity and live a fulfilling life, encompassing the myriad of unique contexts they navigate.

 

A staunch advocate for decolonizing mental health, Amy focuses on supporting families to break intergenerational cycles and validating experiences in a compassionate manner. With extensive studies in sensory support strategies and neurodiversity-affirming care, she brings a fresh, evidence-based perspective to therapy. Targeting issues such as internalized oppression, anxiety, depression, trauma, and women's concerns, Amy also brings specialized knowledge to areas like ADHD, autism, neurodiversity-affirming therapy, life transitions, grief, and loss.

 

Currently, Amy is in the process of completing her M.A. in Couple and Family Therapy, alongside a Play Therapy Certificate from Antioch University Seattle. Further underscoring her commitment to her professional journey, she is a student member of several respected associations including the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), Washington Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (WAMFT), and Washington Association for Play Therapy (WAPT). She is also volunteering as a research assistant with Dr. Shawntres Parks, a professor at Antioch University Seattle, studying the effect of codeswitching on BIPOC counselor identity development. Beyond her educational pursuits, Amy's rich background spans various fields, from marine biology and environmental education to even luxury wallpaper sales.

 

Away from her professional commitments, Amy cherishes her family life on the Olympic peninsula, enriched with the company of her partner, daughter, two cats, and a snake. Her interests, like reading, researching, beachcombing, and hiking, further speak to her multifaceted personality. As a neurodivergent ciswoman and mother with ADHD, she recognizes the struggles that can come with balancing varying identities in an unjust world. She’s here to see you as a whole, complete person, worthy of love and respect exactly as you are. 

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Echoing the words of Mr. Fred Rogers, Amy often reflects, “I must be an emotional archaeologist because I keep looking for the roots of things, particularly the roots of behavior and why I feel certain ways about certain things.” This sentiment beautifully captures her deep commitment to understanding and guiding her clients towards healing and self-realization.

 

She would love to meet with you today!