Dr. Amy Van Buren

One of my favorite opening lines is from the spiritual classic, The Road Less Traveled, by M. Scott Peck. It reads, simply, “Life is difficult.” Somehow, most of us expect that it won’t be. Or that if it is, we should be able to handle it effortlessly. We criticize ourselves for feeling very human things like loneliness, confusion, anxiety, anger, boredom and depression when things don’t go the way we hoped. Unfortunately, life does not come with a user’s manual for how to work with the hard stuff. And yet these very difficulties, the roadblocks at which we find ourselves, are often opportunities in disguise. I see counseling as an opportunity. First and most important, it is a chance to be heard. Things often begin to shift when we can share our inner thoughts and feelings with someone who is really paying attention. I have worked with many people who come up with their own answers when they are able to hear their deepest selves, sometimes for the first time. Counseling is also a chance to learn new life skills. If I had name what I think the most important life skill is, it would be this: psychological flexibility. This means the ability to respond flexibly to yourself, to others and to life. How to get there? By working bit by bit on the following: articulating what matters most to you in life; developing the behaviors that will move you in that direction; handling stumbling blocks along the way; and learning how to respond skillfully to difficult thoughts and feelings that are part of being human. I have a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. The psychological approaches that best inform the way I work are: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Human Givens Approach to Emotional Health and Clear Thinking, and Attachment Theory. The following people have greatly influenced my thinking: Dan Siegel, Stephen Porges, Russ Harris, Karen Horney, Rick Hanson, Mark Tyrell, Milton Erickson, Michael Yapko, Peter Levine, and Pat Ogden. In addition, I am a Registered Yoga Teacher, as well as a Licensed Clinical Massage Therapist. This means I bring a mind-body approach to counseling, including, if you are interested, instruction in basic calming yoga poses and breathing exercises. If this resonates with you, or you are curious to know more, feel free to contact me at any time!