I'm Amanda Jones Stanforth. My pronouns are she/her, and I am continuously working to align my practice with an anti-oppression and anti- racist lens. I see folks in the Triangle with an office in Raleigh. I work with women and folks who are highly capable, and yet struggle to manage the expectations they place on themselves.
Hi! I'm Amanda, and I'm a therapist in North Carolina.
You're exhausted- and not just physically. You're exhausted in ways that are hard to define- in ways that have you feeling like a ghost of yourself when showing up in the day to day. You're stressed in all the different areas of your life- friends, family, work, the connections that you have. You care deeply about your people and you have incredibly high expectations of yourself. Yet, if you ever fail to meet them, those thoughts blasts on repeat, at high volume, to all the corners of your mind.
You don't quite know if it's "bad enough" AND, you know, in the heart of yourself, that you can't stand to feel like this forever. You might have worries, difficulty sleeping, or negative beliefs you hold about yourself or the world. My clients often struggle with feeling enough; "good enough" as a parent, a partner, an employee or business owner, friend, sister. At the end of the day, all you want is to feel safe and secure in yourself and your knowing. You know that right now, that's not where you are.
If you're reading this, you're thinking about therapy.
Fred Rogers noted "Discovering the truth about ourselves is a lifetime's work, but it's worth the effort." Change can be scary, and fear often hits the brakes. Together, we can put you back in the driver's seat and make progress towards the life you want.
There is no time like the present to begin making your life richer, fuller and healthier. That's where I come in!
I can help. I am a licensed therapist in North Carolina, and I have years of experience helping folks challenge and change those negative voices in the back of their mind, as well as their unattainable beliefs around perfection. I work with you to come up with plans and strategies to manage the chaos and support your progress to the goals you share.
I'm here to help you create and keep the life you love living, while keeping your values.
When I graduated college, I believed in my whole heart that I would retire an elementary public school teacher. About a year in, I realized that I loved working with kids and families...and didn't love teaching grammar and multiplying with decimals. This led me to exploring graduate programs.
A first career and a lifetime ago...
I completed my masters degree in Social Work at North Carolina State Unversity, with internships at Haven House Services and the UNC Child and Adolescent Outpatient Program, focusing on youth and families and improving access to mental health treatment.
Determined to stay in North Carolina and planning next steps...
During this time, I worked in community mental health in Durham, North Carolina and completed the DBT Intensive training through Behavioral Tech, previously the Linehan Institute. I moved from there to a large group practice, and focused my work on individuals and families while training in EMDR and grief.
Deepening my practice and falling in love with this work...
At this time, I am a private practice owner. I see clients working through grief, anxiety, depression, emotion dysregulation, suicidal ideation, trauma, parenting and family dynamics. I work in consultation with other private practice owners and clinicians and provide supervision for LCSWAs in North Carolina.
Which brings us to now...
Give me a genre and I'll give you an answer.
Best book I've ever read:
Tournebroche in Quebec City, Canada.
best meal i've ever eaten:
Seeing my clients make astounding progress.
best part of my job:
A coffee and ice water, and cuddling my cats.
best part of my morning:
And these are a few of my favorite things...
–Rev. Dr. (Mister) Fred Rogers
"Some days, doing 'the best we can' may still fall short of what we would like to be able to do, but life isn't perfect on any front and doing what we can with what we have is the most we should expect of ourselves or anyone else."
Foundational beliefs
Therapy looks a little bit different for each person and dynamic within the room. The work I do is positive, relational, intentional and evidenced based. I feel strongly that unconditional positive regard is necessary for our work to be useful. That means part of the goal is to create a place that you feel comfortable sharing emotions and thoughts, expressing frustration, exploring your patterns and practicing vulnerability. I do not claim to be the expert in all things- that's both unreasonable and unhelpful. I do however know that the experiences I've had in the therapy room, in my personal life, and in my trainings have brought me the insight and tools needed to support you in your own journey.
I'm glad you're here, and I'm excited to meet you.
The core focus of the work we do is helping you build the life you want to live, move through the things you want to process and utilize skills to honor your needs.
to sum it up:
walking belong side you as you reach the goals you set for yourself. This work is most useful when we partner together and make progress towards the goals you identify as important.
My greatest priority is...
every person is valuable and worthy just because they exist. I practice from an anti-oppression lens, and excitedly welcome folx from across the gender and sexuality spectrum.
I absolutely believe that...
learn how to experience your emotions in ways that are useful. We can't get through this life without feelings, and learning how to walk with them instead of fight them is important.
My goal is to help you...
That's the big point. We're excited to celebrate and fully welcome all the parts of you and your systems. What this looks like in our therapy work is an active focus on inclusion, equity and access. We are a values-aligned practice, and this means celebrating and welcoming folx of all genders, races, sexualities, faiths, abilities, cultures and bodies.
We are also continuously learning, unlearning, challenging and growing to be more inclusive, affirming and celebratory. We are continuously working to identify the ways white supremacy has framed and impacted the field of mental health, and challenge and change the power dynamics present in these systems.
We are committed to accountability and acknowledging the privilege that we have. We are continuously working to recognize, acknowledge and repair the ways in which we may have once perpetuated these dynamics. We both participate in and welcome education and growth and challenge in these spaces.
So what does this look like? We use your pronouns. We use the name you want us to. The physical office is ADA accessible via elevator and lift, and the doors are wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs and tele-therapy is absolutely an option. There are both fans and heaters in my office, and sensory stimulating and sensory soothing items in my physical office. The furniture is tested for 350lb-500lb weight and you may sit where you choose. We ask you to correct us if we mess up, because we want to be held accountable for this work.
I welcome diversity including all body sizes, abilities, races, sexualities, genders, and religions and faiths.
Inclusivity Statement
these are the reads I keep coming back to and recommend to all of my clients!
What's On My Bookshelf
Reach out, and let's schedule a time to chat. You deserve to live a life of purpose, joy, hope and fulfillment. I'm excited to join you on the journey!
If you're ready to make lifelong changes and build the life you've wanted...
let's work together
