About Amanda
Amanda Halawa-Mahdi is a licensed clinical social worker in Illinois with 23 years of experience. She focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, depression, self-esteem struggles, and workplace or family tensions. She also offers coaching to build confidence and clarify goals.
Amanda uses straightforward, practical approaches in sessions. She listens first, then helps clients set small, doable steps toward change. Conversations cover real-life pressures like caregiver strain, communication breakdowns, body image, and feelings of isolation.
Background and approach
Her background includes work in juvenile justice settings, where she focused on behavior change and accountability. That experience shaped a direct style for addressing motivation, risky choices, and rebuilding trust. Amanda also trained as a professional coach and helps people align decisions with their values.
She combines coaching skills with therapy techniques to support problem solving and clearer decision making. Diversity, equity, and inclusion inform her work. She pays attention to how bias and systemic issues affect stress and self-worth.
Clients can expect respect for their identity and life context. Sessions are collaborative and paced to each person. Amanda emphasizes practical tools, clearer thinking, and building on a person’s strengths.
The goal is steady progress toward a more manageable, meaningful life.
Approaches that translate well to online care
Amanda uses client-centered therapy to create a space where the person’s priorities guide each session. This approach focuses on listening, reflecting what matters most, and helping clients find their own solutions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, is used to spot unhelpful thinking patterns and develop practical strategies for changing mood and behavior. CBT works well for stress, anxiety, and mood concerns because it emphasizes concrete skills and short-term progress.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Amanda will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t helped before. She aims to choose methods that fit the client’s situation and to adjust as progress is made, so therapy stays relevant and doable.
Online sessions offer flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video is helpful for deeper conversation and visual cues, phone calls can fit a quick check-in or lower bandwidth situations, and chat or messaging can work for brief updates or ongoing coaching between sessions. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent amid busy schedules and changing life demands.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Self esteem
Also works with
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 23 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English