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» About 4therapy.com » Featured Member of the Week
Featured Therapist of the Week: Heather Amato, Ph.D.
Why did you decide to become a therapist?
I have been awed and humbled by the significant challenges that many people are forced to face in childhood and/or as adults. Through these hardships it is often easy (or even adaptive at times) to lose touch with oneself, and one's own needs or longings in the process strain of trying to adapt to the demands placed on them (i.e., survive). Oftentimes, this process can lead to the development of self defeating and/or self-injurious patterns characterized by shame, self-blame, or substance abuse. Some people find adaptive ways of coping, but find that they remain consistently blocked in their attempts to achieve lasting intimacy. My decision to become a psychotherapist stemmed from a desire to work with individuals (or families) who are struggling to help them achieve a better understanding of the difficulties they are experiencing, and to help them discover more satisfying and adaptive responses to their past experiences. Given this foundation and the fact that I have a profound respect for the potential of the therapeutic relationship to facilitate personal growth, my therapeutic approach is non-judgmental, compassionate, and specifically tailored to meet the needs of each individual client based upon my sensing of what would be most helpful at that particular point.
What is your specialty?
I have three central areas of specialization:
1. Work with survivors of trauma (e.g., childhood sexual/physical abuse, rape, sexual assault). I have found in treating survivors of trauma that their sense of what is "normal" is permanently changed following their traumatic experience. With adult survivors of childhood sexual/physical abuse their sense of "normalcy" and familiarity has, unfortunately, always been skewed. These altered realities and damaged perspectives affect all aspects of these individuals' lives including self-esteem, relationships with others (especially romantic relationships), ideas of what is/is not safe, and the ability to trust others. Through the process of coming to experience another individual (i.e., a psychotherapist) as safe and the therapeutic relationship as consistent, a survivor is able to safely work through the complex myriad of feelings such as pain, fear, shame and loss.
2. Work with women and their husbands/partners who are struggling with matters of infertility (i.e., inability to become pregnant; miscarriage; recurrent miscarriage). The medical field has seen a rise in the number of women struggling with issues of infertility. For instance, in the U.S. miscarriage occurs in nearly 20-25% of all recognized pregnancies (Hemminki & Forssas, 1999; Lerner, 2003), which, translated, means that it occurs in “one form or another approximately 800,000 times every year” (Lerner, 2003, p. 1). Given these statistics, it has been argued that miscarriages are the most common form of personal tragedy that couples go through in their early years of marriage. These experiences of loss are enormously painful and stressful especially as it often takes time to identify a possible cause. For centuries it was believed that if a couple were unable to conceive a baby the problem was deemed to be with the woman. However, it is now known that both men and women suffer infertility problems and they are no more common in one sex than the other. In fact, among couples who are infertile, about 40 percent are exclusively due to female infertility, 40 percent due to male infertility, 10 percent due to problems with both partners, and in the remaining 10 percent the cause is unknown. For this reason, I find it important to work with the couple (unless a woman is struggling with infertility in her attempt to become pregnant on her own) as, no matter, the source of infertility, these experiences affect both parties.
3. Play/Art Therapy with children ages four through thirteen. I have treated children and young adolescents suffering from a range of difficulties including trauma (sexual/physical abuse), parental loss, parental abandonment - including aiding foster care transition, parental divorce/separation, anxiety disorders, and ADHD/ADD. Though my play therapy approach focuses on the dynamics of how a child is thinking, feeling and behaving, I implement cognitive behavioral techniques when needed to integrate positive reinforcement for behavior change. I have found the more involved parents (or foster parents/guardians) are in their child's/adolescent's therapy the more quickly positive results are seen. For this reason I require collateral sessions with parents/guardians twice/month in order to ensure behavioral and emotional consistency across sessions and in the home.
What do you enjoy most about being a therapist?
I find it a privilege that individuals trust me with their most private experiences and feelings and enjoy being present for them as a source of support and comfort. Additionally, as the therapeutic relationship grows and becomes secure I enjoy challenging my clients and watching them as they meet, and often, surpass these challenges.
Why did you decide to join 4therapy?
To reach individuals who may be searching online for a perspective psychotherapist. I understand that coming to a place of considering therapy can be difficult and is oftentimes a private decision to make. Thus, it may be easier to investigate this possibility over the Internet versus asking others for a referral.
What is the most challenging aspect of being a therapist?
The most challenging aspect of being a therapist is prioritizing time for my own self-care. Although I often emphasize to clients the importance of taking care of oneself, as a "helper" I sometimes neglect to follow my own guidance.
What advice would you give to someone who is wondering whether they should seek therapy?
If you are struggling or even somewhat considering talking to a professional about difficulties in your life and/or relationships, I would encourage you to give it a try. If after several sessions it does not feel right to you can always stop. However, what I have found in my experience is that those who were most nervous and/or skeptical about therapy were pleasantly surprised to find how helpful it was to talk with another person and have a space all their own where they could safely express and process their feelings.
When is it time to seek therapy?
Here are a few examples of when it may be a good idea to seek therapy:
When you find that no matter how you try you continue to fall into the same patterns of "bad" or disappointing relationships, self-destructive habits (including drug/alcohol use/abuse), and/or depressive feeling cycles that make you feel dissatisfied with yourself and/or hopeless about your life.
When you have experienced a sudden trauma and/or tragedy, such as the loss of a loved one, and you find that you cannot move past the pain and/or fear.
When you find that the one you love (i.e., your partner) is someone with whom you can no longer find much happiness.
When you find that you can no longer accomplish the things you used to do or function properly in the roles you once upheld comfortably either due to a significant lack of energy or lack of desire.
In all of these cases, talking with someone in a therapeutic setting can help you.
Click here to view Heather Amato's profile.
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