Amy Bouldin, MEd, LPC

Are you not quite sure what’s wrong or where to begin to feel better? Or maybe you know exactly what’s been bothering you and need help moving forward. Either way, making changes and talking about difficult topics can be scary, and you don’t have to go it alone. Counseling is often emotionally demanding personal work and I aim to always provide a safe space for you where we can tackle whatever struggles you’re facing. During challenging times, I believe sometimes we need unbiased guidance and support to help us possibly reframe things, and to determine necessary steps for sustainable change, enhanced happiness, healing, and meaning in life to help us become happier versions of ourselves. Whether you already know which areas in your life need some attention, or something just feels off and you need help identifying what’s going on inside you, I will provide a warm, non-judgmental, empathetic, and often humorous, space to meet you where you are. Together, we will explore ways to help you define and reach your goals.

Using a tailored approach specific to your needs, I draw upon the Gottman Method, Imago Relationship Therapy, psychodynamic, and family system approaches. I also incorporate mindfulness and relaxation techniques into my practice where indicated. Some of my professional areas of interest include, symptom relief from anxiety and depression; life transitions; stressors that come with graduating from college; interpersonal relationship challenges; intimacy, sexuality, and sexual health issues pertaining to relationships; infidelity; men’s issues; grief and loss; and coping with challenging family dynamics. I often work with those who are currently in or who have left narcissistic abuse, as that healing process is complicated, confusing, incredibly difficult and having support is one of the most necessary parts of the healing process. Additionally, I have extensive experience working with cultures from all over the world and have worked with many expats, as I was an expat myself. I continually seek to enhance my understanding of how my areas of interest manifest themselves across various cultures.

I work extensively with couples including homosexual, heterosexual, and transgendered persons. Some of the most common concerns amongst the couples I work with are various communication issues; difficulties arguing fairly; transitioning to living together; sexual issues; infidelity; and other types of betrayals. I will help you develop some different and more effective ways of communicating so you both feel heard, seen and understood. If you have been wondering if couple’s counseling is a good idea for you, it more than likely it is. You don’t need to be in crisis to begin couple’s work and often couple’s wait until it’s too late to try and address their concerns. No doubt couple’s work is often challenging and many will dismiss it or put it off out of fear of what may come from the sessions. My goal is to help you discover ways to reestablish closeness, trust, and fondness, while slowly addressing dysfunctional patterns. This process will likely help you gain the clarity you need to move forward with some better tools on how to address difficult topics.

Education, Credentials & Memberships

• Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
• Master’s degree in Community Agency Counseling from George Mason University – Bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University (go Pirates!) in Communication
• Professionals memberships include Northern Virginia Licensed Professional Counselors (NVLPC), American Counseling Association (ACA), Chi Sigma Iota honor society in Academic Counseling.

More about me:

• I am a Washington DC native
• I have my scuba diving certification and always look forward to traveling and finding new dive spots
• I am a permanent resident of Australia (but am American)
• I worked in the corporate world for about 11.5 years