Amanda Kelsheimer

Amanda Kelsheimer, LCSW, Clinical Director – Family Therapy Services, PCIT Trainer-in-Training

She/her/hers – what are personal pronouns and why do they matter?

Clients I work with: Adult individuals, children and teens (aged 2 to 18), families, parents and caregivers, and adult families.

Issues I work with: Communication, life transitions, self-worth, family of origin experiences, adverse experiences in childhood, trauma, grief and loss, anxiety, depression, shame and guilt, parenting practices, school performance, behavioral concerns, blended families, multigenerational families, gender identity, sexual identity, youth and teen exploration of self/identity, strengthening attachment and/or connection, defiance, impulsivity, dysregulation, tantrums, autism, ADHD, separation, finding shared parenting strategies, social skills, military life, and bullying.

 

My Approach

I see our human struggles as an opportunity for a deeper and more meaningful connection with ourselves and others. Our pain often shines a light on our experiences of connection that do not feel secure, open, or satisfying. When we can pay attention to the signals that our emotional world offers up, this can help us better understand any unmet needs more fully.  

I work with adult individuals, children (aged 2 and above), tweens, teens, their families, and parents and caregivers. I recognize that each client has their own unique perspective, strengths, and resources. I focus on supporting clients to creatively turn their pain into coping skills, missed connections into secure relationships, and problematic behaviors into strengths and resiliency. My goal is to make therapy a positive and rewarding experience for you and/or your relationships.

Whether I work with individuals or families, I know the power that relationships hold for helping us know who we are, what we need, how to ask for our needs to be met, and the likelihood that we are going to get our needs met by others. 

I serve as the subtitles for all the ways relationships shape you, past and present, and help you decide what to keep and what to change. Where there have been messages that you are not enough, too much, unworthy, can’t trust, or need to protect yourself, I can help you heal and repair. With individual clients, this can be a process that starts within, going back for the parts of you that might need bringing back into the light so they can know other possibilities are available to them.

My approach to treatment is culturally sensitive, systemic, strengths-based, and grounded in holistic theory, the belief in treating “the whole person.”  I value exploring developmental, trauma, familial, biological, spiritual, societal, and cultural influences and believe these are fundamental influences on how we view and relate to ourselves, others, and the world.

I integrate attachment, family systems, trauma-informed, internal family systems, cognitive-behavioral, and acceptance and commitment therapy modalities in my work with all ages. I draw from the wisdom of these models as needed so that I can be responsive to the unique needs of each client and family. I also have a growing interest in the utilization of somatic/body-focused models in my work.

Individual Therapy

My work with individuals includes working with those who may suffer from anxiety, depression, trauma, difficulty organizing or tolerating emotions, and self-worth issues. I support clients to explore their life experiences and how these may have shaped them mentally, emotionally, physically, relationally, and spiritually. I offer a secure and attuned place from which clients can explore their struggles, heal old wounds, and create lasting change. You don’t have to be alone in exploring your current identity, I can help you make sense of how you got here.

I frequently work with adults who struggle with feelings of unworthiness, insecure attachment, or relationship patterns that don’t feel satisfying or secure. Where you have needed to develop protections or believe that secure connection or safety is not available to you, I can help you work through the unresolved pain that limits your present reality. You have come by your strategies for getting your needs met in response to what was available to you in earlier relationships, and these experiences may not have offered you everything you needed. You deserve to feel worthy, valuable, safe, and seen and I look forward to being alongside you in your journey to feeling whole.

I’m also passionate about working with youth, teens, and adults in ways that support their sexual and gender identity exploration, and identify as an LGBTQ-IA ally and affirming therapist.

Family Therapy

Our body and brain are in a constant state of development and adjustment until the age of 25. For the most part, children/teens are very resilient and able to adjust to the challenges life can throw their way. Sometimes children and families are faced with difficult circumstances that are stressful or overwhelming. Families may also go through experiences that disrupt the relationships they have with each other, impacting the security and connection they may have previously felt. You may also be finding that previously effective parenting strategies are no longer working.

You may notice your child’s personality change or they might be more sensitive than usual. Distress in children and teens tends to show up as a decreased ability to tolerate emotions or transitions, acting out or tantrums, academic issues, withdrawing from relationships or activities they previously enjoyed, behavioral challenges, or somatic issues such as aches or pains.

Parenting through these times is hard and knowing how best to help your child/teen to navigate life challenges can sometimes feel stressful and overwhelming. I work with children and caregivers alike to learn new ways of responding and supporting one another as they navigate different developmental stages, stressors, changes, or transitions.

Parents are actively included and supported throughout therapy. I focus on practical, real-world strategies that build security and connection through a balance of nurture, engagement, structure, and challenge.  These strategies are a resource that can then be leaned upon at different development stages, life experiences, and through adversity.

I lean upon Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) when working with children ages 2.5 to 6.5 years old, and their caregivers. This well-researched and practical approach strengthens your attachment to your child and allows for both warmth and structure in all interactions. You will learn play therapy skills to use with your child that help them to better focus, listen, and manage their emotions. PCIT offers clear guidance to parents on the best ways to be predictable, consistent, calm, and present.

I lean upon Theraplay when working with children ages 3-12 years old. Theraplay is a family therapy model focused on enhancing attachment, strengthening the child’s self-esteem, and healing childhood trauma, overwhelm, or loss. Theraplay strengthens parents’ ability to coregulate their child using a range of play activities that focus on four qualities found in healthy parent-child relationships; structure, engagement, nurture, and challenge. 

When working with pre-teen,  teen, and adult families I utilize Emotionally-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT), an evidence-based model that focuses on improving emotional connection and communication between family members. I help families identify patterns of interaction and explore the underlying emotions of each family member.

I am passionate about the impact that family therapy can have on adult families. Family therapy is also a space for adult families to identify and heal old wounds, and deepen their emotional connections so that family connections can be enjoyed long into adulthood.

Therapy for Parents

In working with parents, I particularly value working with parents to explore the ways their own attachment history and family of origin experiences influence their current parenting strategies and family dynamics. I enjoy helping parents identify and have compassion toward the wounded parts of themselves that show up or are activated when they witness their own child struggle. Our internal maps for parenting are powerful reflections of the kind of parenting we experienced, and we can often find ourselves playing out these same patterns out even if we are aware of their limitations.

Parenting is a space in which you may feel particularly vulnerable or uncertain and I want to offer reassurance that my role is to highlight and capitalize on your strengths, explore your own wounds and/or maps for connection, expand your skills and confidence, and support any needs for healing in a way that feels validating, nurturing, and safe.

I recognize that each parent or caregiver has unique family experiences, strengths, needs, and goals. I work with parents to engage in reflection and increased alignment with each other to find parenting strategies that work for everyone. I collaborate with blended families and multigenerational families to discover the ways in which they can nurture a shared parenting style and family culture that makes sense for everyone.

My Background

I received my Master of Social Work degree from Simmons University in Boston, MA. My previous clinical experience includes working with families providing intensive in-home family therapy services, serving clients within inpatient/rehabilitation settings, and working with clients and their families within a women’s center. My focus has always been on working with family relationships as I know the transformative power of working with the family unit directly.

I serve as the Clinical Director for Family Therapy services at the practice offering a range of training, consultation, and supervision support space for our licensed therapists, residents, and clinical social work supervises. I am currently completing the requirements to be a PCIT Trainer and oversee our in-house PCIT training program.

I practice radical inclusion and cultural humility and look forward to working with and affirming clients of all races, genders, sexualities, and abilities.