Hello! My name is Dr. Amy Waldron. I'm a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in the state of California, a Board Certified Art Therapist, and a trail runner.
My background as an artist and a writer has shaped my personal and professional journey. I believe we can each be empowered to discover our strengths and to find our authentic voice in order to become the author of our own story. My approach is to help you set intentions to find the path that will take you there.
I have a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy and a doctorate (PhD) in Art Therapy. My path has taken me from long-term and short-term residential treatment, to a psychiatric hospital setting, a specialty mental health school, a chronic pain clinic, and finally to intensive outpatient treatment for individuals and families struggling with depression, anxiety, addiction, and complex PTSD. I feel grateful to have had opportunities to work alongside children and adolescents hospitalized for medical procedures, to travel internationally to help communities foster connection through creative self-expression following tragedy, to teach graduate students training to become researchers, and to have taught self-defense, personal safety, and empowerment courses to women who have experienced violence. These experiences have contributed to my wealth of knowledge on adverse childhood experiences and the lifelong impact of trauma and multigenerational wounding.
Several years ago in a New York Times article titled “The Trauma of Being Alive”, the author pointed out that “our world is unstable and unpredictable, and operates, to a great degree and despite incredible scientific advancement, outside our ability to control it” (Epstein, 2013). However, I believe we each have the power to foster change. If it seems like we might be a good fit, you’ve come to the right place and I’d love to hear from you.
Additional areas of focus: LGBT, Family conflicts, Grief, Self esteem, Coping with life changes, Compassion fatigue
Clinical approaches: Attachment-Based Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy
CA LMFT 92094