About Amanda
Dr. Amanda Van Der Westhuizen is a counsellor with 17 years of professional experience working in the United Kingdom. She welcomes people from many backgrounds and brings a steady, respectful presence to sessions.
She aims to help clients with a wide range of concerns including anxiety, depression, trauma and relationship difficulties. She has experience supporting people with complex presentations, including neurodiversity and co-occurring mental health conditions. That background means she is used to working at a thoughtful pace and tailoring conversations to what each person needs.
Background and approach
She also supports people coping with grief, addiction, bipolar mood concerns and long-term health problems. Her practice uses approaches that centre the person's experience and address past wounds when needed. Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing is one of the methods she uses alongside trauma-focused work and client-centred therapy.
These approaches can help when difficult memories, overwhelm or intense emotions interfere with daily life. Dr. Van Der Westhuizen aims to treat people with sensitivity and compassion.
She works collaboratively to shape treatment around a person's goals and comfort level. For many, therapy with her involves practical steps, reflective conversation and steady support as they make changes. She offers sessions in English and Afrikaans and is available to international clients.
To begin, people select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to availability.
How therapeutic approaches work online
The counsellor uses client-centred therapy, EMDR, and trauma-focused methods to address emotional difficulties. Client-centred therapy focuses on listening and understanding a person's experience so the client leads the pace and content of conversations. Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) aims to reduce the intensity of distressing memories by using structured attention and processing; it is often used for trauma-related symptoms. Trauma-focused therapy works directly with past events and their effects to help reduce reactivity and improve daily functioning.Deciding which approach to use is a collaborative process. The counsellor will talk through options, consider your goals and preferences, and adapt the plan as you go. People often try one approach and adjust if needed, so the method is chosen together rather than imposed.
Online work offers practical flexibility. Video calls let you use visual cues and mirror face-to-face sessions. Phone sessions use less bandwidth and can be easier during a busy day. Live chat and text-based messaging suit brief check-ins or when writing helps you think things through. These options help people fit therapy around work, family life and other commitments while keeping continuity of care with registered or accredited professionals.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Visually impaired
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 17 years
- Licensed
- Languages
- English, Afrikaans
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