Certified in: Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR); Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
Trained in: Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE); Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT); Adaptive Disclosure Therapy (AD)
Dr. Amy Amidon is a licensed psychologist in California (2009), Montana (2017), South Carolina (2020), and Oregon (2022). She received her Ph.D. in counseling psychology at the University of Texas at Austin in 2008 where she trained at the Austin Veterans Affairs hospital working with combat Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and military sexual trauma. She completed her APA accredited postdoctoral training as a research clinician examining moral injury in returning OEF/OIF (Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom) combat Veterans at Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital. She completed two years at the San Diego Veterans Affairs Hospital in the OEF/OIF and Military Sexual Trauma clinics. She was hired by Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) in 2010 to help develop the Navy’s residential PTSD Clinic, providing intensive trauma therapy to OEF/OIF combat Veterans and their families until 2015. She worked at NMCSD’s Naval Amphibious Base until 2016. From 2016 - 2018 she worked in Bozeman, MT as a staff psychologist at The Station Foundation providing individual and group treatment to Special Operators, their families, and Gold Star children. During this time, she assisted in creating empowerment groups for military wives. In 2017 she began her private practice.
Dr. Amidon specializes in the treatment of trauma and related disorders, to include anxiety, depression, personality disorders, difficulties with emotional regulation, stress management, and self-esteem. She has extensive training and expertise in evidence-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapies. She takes a strengths-based approach to working with individuals, using positive psychology and mindfulness concepts to build resiliency in her clients. Dr. Amidon stresses balanced living as a means of promoting improved quality of life, purpose and meaning, healthier relationships, and increased self-compassion. She balances meeting clients where they are at with utilizing warmth and encouragement to push them just past their comfort zone for optimal growth. She has served as a subject matter expert on moral injury and PTSD to various organizations and in national interviews (The Huffington Post, The Atlantic, NMCSD, University of San Diego, Sharp Healthcare, Scripps Healthcare, Coronado Fire Department, Sydney, MT Sherriff’s Department, and various DoD and VA clinics).