Amanda Helton

I believe therapy works best when you can bring your whole self into the room—not just the parts that feel easy to explain or acceptable to other people. My approach is warm, relational, collaborative, and grounded in the belief that people make sense in context. I don’t see distress as evidence that something is wrong with you. Instead, I’m interested in understanding what you’ve lived through, the relationships and systems that have shaped you, and the strategies you’ve developed to survive and navigate the world. I’m a queer, neurodivergent therapist and Certified Sex Educator, and much of my clinical work has been with LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent people. I especially enjoy working with people navigating identity development, masking and overwhelm, anxiety, burnout, trauma, family or religious rejection, relationship difficulties, sexuality and gender exploration, and major life transitions. I also welcome couples, people in consensually non-monogamous relationships, and clients exploring questions about intimacy, sex, and connection. My clinical perspective is informed by Narrative Therapy, relational and systemic approaches, trauma-informed care, disability justice, and decolonial perspectives. I’m interested in the stories we inherit about who we are and what our lives are supposed to look like—and in creating space to question stories that no longer fit. Sometimes therapy involves developing new ways of relating to yourself; sometimes it means grieving what you didn’t receive; sometimes it means reconnecting with parts of yourself, your history, your relationships, or your community that have been pushed aside. As a neurodivergent person myself, I know how exhausting it can be to feel like you’re constantly translating yourself for other people. I try to make therapy a space where you don’t have to perform neurotypical ways of communicating or justify your needs. We can make room for different communication styles, processing speeds, sensory needs, movement, and ways of making meaning. My background in art history, museums, community work, and sexuality education also shapes how I practice. I’m curious about creativity, culture, family stories, ancestry, relationships, and the ways larger social forces become part of our personal lives. I don’t believe healing happens in isolation, and I won’t ask you to separate your mental health from the communities, histories, identities, and material realities that shape your life. Most importantly, I see you as the expert on your own experience. My role isn’t to tell you who you are or what your life should look like. It’s to be alongside you—with curiosity, compassion, and honesty—as we make sense of where you’ve been, where you are now, and what you want to create next.