Amy Van Daele, AMFT

Associate Marriage & Family Therapist 

Amy Van Daele

Amy Van Daele, AMFT

Registered Associate Marriage & Family Therapist (AMFT #137904)
Supervised by Sarah Schewitz, Psy.D. (PSY26868)
Pronouns: she/hers
Fee: $135 for 50min session; $215 for 80min session, $80 for 30min check-ins

Amy Van Daele is a Registered Associate Marriage & Family Therapist specializing in working with individuals and couples from an attachment perspective. Attachment work helps heal dysfunctional patterns deep at the root cause rather than just treating the symptoms. By uncovering and examining our patterns, core beliefs, and behaviors in relationships, we can break the unconscious cycles we find ourselves in and choose and maintain healthy relationships that are supportive, safe, and empowering. Amy utilizes Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy to do this deeper attachment work as well as provide you with research-based skills and knowledge to help you build the relationship you want.

My Approach & Values

Amy supports her clients in identifying and understanding their attachment style and related patterns within their relationships to obtain a deeper level of self-awareness. Through our past relationship experience, we develop “working models” of how relationships should be and how we should act in them. These experiences could be from our current relationship, past relationships, and the relationships with our original caregivers. This phenomenon is what we call attachment theory. Developing an understanding about your attachment style, and, if applicable, your partner’s attachment style, helps individuals choose relationships from a more empowered place and helps couples discover a deeper understanding and empathy for one another’s experience. 

Amy also utilizes the evidence-based method of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy to help couples gain awareness of their attachment needs, triggers, and repeating unhealthy patterns. With this insight, partners learn how to work together as a team to change their conflict cycle by building safety, allowing vulnerability, deepening understanding, and empathizing with one another.

Amy helps couples turn toward each other as they move through challenges such as infertility, blended families, communication, loss, addiction, and healing past attachment wounds. She helps individuals reparent themselves by learning how to self-soothe, have compassion for themselves, and move through difficult times.

Amy’s therapeutic approach is compassionate, yet direct. She creates a safe space for both partners to feel seen and heard. Amy believes that relationship challenges are opportunities for us to better understand ourselves, turn toward one another, and grow together. This understanding is based on Amy’s training and also her own healing journey. After doing her own attachment healing work and realizing that she was coping and numbing in unhealthy ways, Amy chose to live a sober life. Amy understands what it takes to shift patterns of attachment, learn healthier coping strategies, and have deep, meaningful relationships because she has done the work herself. Amy’s own experience of attachment healing has deepened her empathy for clients and strengthened her commitment to helping them achieve similar growth and healing. 

Amy completed her Bachelor’s Degree at Rutgers University and her Master’s Degree in Counseling from California State University Northridge, graduating with a 4.0 GPA. She earned a certification from UC Berkeley’s 2-year mindfulness meditation teacher training and often integrates mindfulness into her work with clients. She also volunteers at a nonprofit where she offers free trauma-informed mindfulness classes to trauma survivors.

Amy is currently completing her supervised clinical hours for licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist. She is being supervised by Couples Learn founder, Dr. Sarah Schewitz, who she consults with weekly to discuss client sessions. This means that when you work with Amy, you get the benefit of two therapists collaborating about the best way to help you!

Amy is originally from the east coast but now calls Los Angeles home. She is an avid traveler, reader, Kombucha drinker, hiker, candle connoisseur, plant mom, and pilates-goer.

lesbian couple

My Expertise

 

I believe that relationship challenges are opportunities for us to better understand ourselves, turn toward one another, and grow together. Having done my own healing work, I get how intimidating it can be to start this journey but I promise you it is worth it in the end!

Amy Van Daele, AMFT

Advanced Trainings

 

  • Emotionally Focused Therapy (Level 1 completed – full certification in progress)
  • Mindful Self Compassion Graduate
  • Certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher
  • Trauma Resilience Toolkit
  • Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Certification
  • Internal Family Systems: Aligning The Inner System
Amy Van Daele and Oliver

Book Your Free Consultation

Let’s get to know each other and see if working together is a good fit.

If you do not see current availability for a free 30-minute consultation with Amy, please email [email protected] and let our team know you would like to be added to her waitlist.