Amanda A Patterson, LCSW
(she/they)
Preferred Name: Amanda
About Me
CURRENTLY ACCEPTING IN NETWORK NJ AETNA MEMBERS (June 2023) and Out of Network Colorado residents. Hello! I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker serving a broad spectrum of clients from emergent adulthood into seniority. I completed clinical social work studies at Saint Louis University's College of Public Health and Social Justice in 2014, and went on to practice hospice care with Alternative Hospice in Fenton, Missouri and Grace Hospice in Monmouth County, NJ. After leaving hospice care in 2018 I provided psychotherapy services with Hackensack Meridian's Life Transitions Program, and as a Trauma Clinician at the Mental Health Association of Monmouth County's Adult Outpatient Program. Intimacy with the dying process, alongside the inextricable link between chronic illness and trauma, led me to seek new tools for assisting clients while they are living. I find my center in the garden and seek to maintain commitment to soil fertility and sustainability of polyculture on earth.
Education & Experience
I trained with Humanitarian Assistance Programs Trauma Recovery (HAP) in 2018 and became a certified EMDR therapist with EMDRIA in 2020. I began training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with Portland Psychotherapy in 2019. Prior to working in mental health I spent fifteen years of domestic and international teaching in secondary education; promoting literacy and language arts. Among my areas of expertise are Trauma, Divorce, Infertility, Attachment, Grief and Loss, End of Life, Anxiety and Depression. Currently I am studying Ancestral Medicine Healing and best practices for incorporating Plant Medicine into trauma recovery.
Professional & Volunteer Affiliations
My practice respects all beings and is LGBTQIA affirmative, committed to decolonizing therapy and antiracism.
Specialty Area
- Chronic Illness/Medical Issues
- Chronic Pain
- Depression
- Family Issues
- Gender Identity
- Grief/Loss/Mourning
- Headaches/Migraines
- Marriage/Relationship Issues
- Mood Disorders
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Somatic Issues
- Spirituality
- Stress Management
- Survivor's Guilt
- Traumatic Incident
Population Served
- Adults
- Expats
- First Responders
- LGBTQ+
- Seniors
- Underserved
Insurance
- Aetna
- UnitedHealth
Out of Network