• Looking for help with anxiety or trauma? Googling, researching, information-seeking, or what I fondly call in myself “research-and-review” is a common expression of uncertainty, anxiety, and the residue of trauma.

    Brain and body-based somatic psychotherapy is additive. We keep up what works (e.g. information-gathering). And because an overused strength can become a liability, we identify and reinforce additional resources.

About Amanda

Somatic Therapist for Anxiety and Trauma in Indiana

  • Online sessions anywhere in Indiana

  • In-person appointments in South Bend

  • Openings within one week

  • Predictable weekly session times

  • 200+ hours of clinical training in brain and body-based approaches

  • 9+ years therapy experience

  • 5+ years independently licensed

Hello and welcome. I have been practicing therapy since 2015 and developing an expertise in healing trauma and the wounds of childhood that show up in our adult relationships today. I belong to a cohort of clinicians learning Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, seek regular consultation, and meet with like-valued White clinicians doing the life-long work of cultivating liberation-centered practice.

  • I show up to sessions with warmth, curiosity and trust. I work with you to create new experiences within our session that can become resources for you outside of session. In constant collaboration, we create a therapy for you that challenges you to grow at the pace just right for your system.

  • People I work with leave sessions with more clarity, access to strengths, and greater capacity for their day-to-day living.

  • Schedule a free 15-minute phone or video consultation. I look forward to speaking with you.

View of windows and plants from desk in Indiana of online somatic therapist for anxiety and trauma Amanda Potter

Meet Amanda

Visual description: Smiling welcome from Indiana somatic anxiety and trauma therapist and Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Amanda Potter sitting on a green sofa wearing a red and white Hirbawi Kufiya.

Psychotherapy clients have noted my big facial expressions and soothing voice. I use these parts of myself along with my formal education, years of clinical work, and my time as a human to create a therapy that fosters your well-being.

  • I use a somato-psycho-social approach incorporating and informed by:

    • Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

    • Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

    • Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (M-BCT)

    • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

    • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills education

    • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

    • Motivational Interviewing (MI)

  • Our histories and environments form us and inform us. And while your therapy will focus on you and the systems you are a part of, the therapist I am in session is informed by the systems I am (and have been) a part of. Below I list some of those systems and environments and how I imagine they influence me today in order to provide you with a window into my therapeutic foundations.

    • Roots in service and community and fervent self-determination (The College of William and Mary)

    • Value learning in a community and practicing from the position that we heal in the context of relationships (Psychoanalytic Education Center of the Carolinas)

    • Psychodynamic and systems orientation to clinical practice and persistent attention to the intersection of power and clinical work (Smith College School for Social Work)

    • Value community care and early intervention (Durham Early Head Start)

    • Value professional collaboration across different schools of practice and the incorporation of skills education in psychotherapy practice (Duke University Medical Center)

    • Somatic or brain and body-based therapeutic practice and the paradigm shift: recovery = embodiment (Embodied Recovery Institute, study with Linda Thai)

  • In addition to my psychotherapy practice, Amanda Potter, LCSW, LLC:

    • I practice part-time at the University of Notre Dame University Counseling Center providing individual and group therapy during the fall and spring terms.

      ***If you are a ND student and would like to work together at the UCC, you can attend drop-in hours and ask to schedule with me for ongoing care.

    • I organize and participate in an accountability space for white-bodied mental health clinicians each month.

      ***If you are a White mental health clinician and would like to participate, please email me.

    • I am a student at the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute with Laia Jorba, LPC, PhD and Patrick Weeg, LCSW.

    • I facilitate a therapeutic writing group for students at Asian University for Women in Bangladesh.

    • I serve on the board of my local public library.

Logo for University of Notre Dame where Amanda Potter, LCSW and somatic anxiety and trauma therapist in Indiana practices part-time
Logo for Embodied Recovery Tier 2 Clinical Applications training completed by Amanda Potter, LCSW and somatic anxiety and trauma therapist in Indiana
Logo for Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, where Amanda Potter, LCSW and somatic anxiety and trauma therapist in Indiana completed Level 1 training

  • I am my own greatest tool in my psychotherapy practice, so my well-being has a direct and immediate influence on your clinical care. That a therapist takes steps to maintain their well-being is more important than the “how.” And we all differ in how much we want to know about our therapist. That said, here is some of what I do:

    • I nurture trusted personal and professional relationships.

    • I walk instead of drive.

    • I train and go to a gym class twice a week.

    • I hydrate.

    • I listen to or read fiction.

    • I support my back with a pillow, put my feet on the floor, and put a hand on my chest.

    • I consume material that reinforces my humanity, compassion, and curiosity.

    • I remember my why.

    How I care for myself is an active focus and growth-edge. Intergenerational history and my place in the Imperialist White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy require a lifelong practice in healing. It is out of care for my loved ones, for the people I see in my therapy practice, for the planet, and for my inner-me that I attend to my well-being.

Peer Reviews

Amanda has a beautiful way of showing curiosity and supporting people in naming and understanding their own experience. A warm, authentic, and caring therapist, she is able to hold space for you - even when you don't know how to hold space for yourself.

—Melissa Forrow, LCSW, LAC

Amanda's profound self-awareness is a source of inspiration, fostering deep connections with those around her. Her commitment and patience are unwavering, allowing her clients to work through their issues. Amanda's use of body-based therapy, mindful awareness of emotions, and body sensations, coupled with her compassion and client-centered approach, create safe spaces not only for her clients but also for her colleagues.

—Vivian Hui, LCSW

Amanda is not only a deeply compassionate professional; but she demonstrates excellence in her dedication to furthering her training. We have shared clients in the past and I have always felt confident referring clients to her services. She grounds her work in connecting with clients and their needs by focusing on the whole person.

—Taylor Coats, LCSW

Amanda is warm and compassionate in her practice. While being curious, she creates and holds spaces for her clients to explore their true selves and exercise their own agency related to their own changes.

—Chieh-Yu Liao, PhD, HSPP