Who I Treat

As of January 2024, I am no longer taking long-term trauma psychotherapy clients. I am working with clients in a short-term, 3-5 month period. Clients might work with me periodically, once a year for a 3-5 month period where we may work intensely (2x a week initially, tapering to 1x a week, or every other week as changes integrate). Please see my new website, www.amywonghope.com, which describes how I am supporting clients in their transformation process, psychedelic preparation or integration, or peer consultation for trauma-and-psychedelic-informed care.

The amount I charge for my rate allows me to take pro-bono or insurance cases on a case-by-case basis.

I incorporate all of my trauma expertise into what I do, in both practices. 

Finding a therapist that really fits what you are looking for is important. Clients who come to me are in a place of transformation and entering into a new stage in life where they lingering negative beliefs from the past. prevent them from feeling fully confident in their new endeavor. The clients who come to me know that their negative beliefs are not true, but still feel held back by them. Maybe you are a high achiever, but you still have lingering negative beliefs or overcompensating behaviors (perfectionism, people-pleasing) that holds you back from being your full, authentic self. Because my speciality is in processing trauma, I work best with clients who have stability in their income source, living situation, and in the area of self-harm. I do not recommend trauma processing unless there is stabilization in these areas. I provide a combination of specialty techniques to work with my clients such as: EMDR, Brainspotting, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and Internal Family Systems, Mindfulness techniques. Additionally, I am a certified Daring Way (TM) Facilitator, and work with covert shame and shame-resilience techniques based on Dr. Brené Brown’s shame-resilience research. Lastly, I also have extensive training in psychedelic-assisted therapy and am the founder and teacher of a Psychedelic Studies Certificate Program at Southwestern College, as of Fall 2023. I can support you with preparation for psychedelic-assisted therapy and also integration of psychedelic experiences (both mystical experiences and adverse experiences). In some cases I provide psychedelic-assisted therapy during sessions, however, only with Ketamine, as that is the only legal psychedelic experience in New Mexico at this time. I can provide adjunct trauma processing to clients who wish to stay with their primary therapists. In these cases, clients alternate seeing me and their primary clinician on alternating weeks over a period of 3-4 months. A signed release allowing me to coordinate with your primary counselor is required. Client ages/groups:
  • Individuals (Age 18 and up)I do not see couples or families.
Conditions treated:
  • Preparation and integration for those who have experienced non-ordinary states of consciousness from Ketamine  or other experiences
  • Trauma (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and attachment wounds, that might be acute, chronic, developmental or relational
  • Toxic perfectionism, self-esteem, shame, and identity development
  • Relationship issues/codependency/difficulty with boundaries
  • Anxiety and panic attacks
  • Depression
  • Attachment Issues
  • Traumatic or prolonged grief
  • Spirituality and Transpersonal experiences
  • Existential issues
Latent trauma, or “trauma” with a lowercase “t” Some clients have experienced difficult childhoods and relationships for their entire lives. In these cases, there may be a history of chronic or complex trauma. Trauma in this case may be a single episode or ongoing trauma; there may have been emotional, physical, or sexual abuse; however, trauma can also include lesser-known emotional, identity, and attachment wounds caused by situations where:
  • A caregiver wasn’t consistently available (a parent who had severe medical or mental illness, or a drug addiction)
  • A difference in attachment styles (a child who may be less expressive due to Aspergers, ADHD, or a non-verbal learning disorder and have a parent(s) who struggle to communicate and connect with their child). This, paired with mismatching communication styles can often lead to relational conflict.
  • A teen with undiagnosed ADHD, a non-verbal learning disorder, or Aspergers feels like something is wrong with him or her.
  • You were diagnosed with a chronic illness and are struggling.
  • Your partner or child was diagnosed with a chronic illness, and you, as their main support, notice more feelings of resentment and unmet needs.
  • You went through a major life event: divorce, the death of a loved one, or separation from those you love due to unforeseen circumstances.
In the field of trauma-informed therapy, the instances above are referred to “trauma” with a lowercase “t.” These types of trauma aren’t written about specifically in the DSM-V, which considers trauma a single-incident event.  Clients who have experienced chronic trauma, neglect, attachment trauma, all of which are part of the Developmental Trauma description (which Dr. Bessel van der Kolk proposed as a change in the latest diagnostic statistic manual), often don’t realize how these past wounds have impacted and still impact their sense of self, relationships, and forward movement. In short, if you considered a past event traumatic, wounding, distressing–and that pain or distress arises again and again in your relationships, in your daily life, or is triggered when you least expect it, it might be trauma.