Amaria Means

  Hello! My name is Amaria Means, and I am an African American woman pursuing my doctorate in Counseling Psychology at Northwest University. I am trained in motivational interviewing, have experience working with young adults, I have worked with children with autism, and have used applied behavioral analysis to combat behavioral challenges. I was born and raised here in Washington State but lived in Atlanta, GA for 4 years, where I received my Bachelor's Degree in Psychology.I have known I wanted to be a therapist since I was in high school, and I have since then worked hard on understanding how best I could be of help to my clients.      

I decided to continue my education in psychology because I want to help people. I want to hear from my clients and assist them while they work through the things they are experiencing. I believe the best way to do this is by building a unique relationship with my clients that constitutes trust, compassion, and comfort. I work from an integrative therapeutic orientation, meaning that I change the way I work with people depending on the person and what it seems they may need. I use a combination of different techniques and beliefs from theories to guide the sessions because everyone is different.       

I love to work with people from all walks of life, but I have a passion for working with young adults trying to navigate the stressors of life (mood, personality, difficult behaviors, and trauma). As an African American woman, I also have a passion for working in and assisting my community by looking at things like trauma (racial and generational) and mood. I'm also here if you just need someone to talk to about some tough things.       
My personal hobbies are reading, singing, binge-watching my favorite tv shows, and spending time with my Shi Tzu named Adé! I also love to travel, watch movies, and play pickleball with my family.