About Amanda
Amanda Ihle is a licensed clinical social worker in Oregon with 16 years of clinical experience. She uses straightforward, practical approaches to help people manage stress, anxiety, depression, addiction concerns, and relationship or intimacy-related issues. Amanda aims to make the first step into therapy feel doable and respectful of the effort it takes to reach out.
She blends acceptance and commitment ideas with cognitive and mindfulness strategies to focus on what matters most to each person.
Background and approach
Sessions often involve noticing patterns, practicing new responses, and setting small, achievable goals. The therapist-centered stance is warm and nonjudgmental, inviting honest conversation about hard topics like trauma, grief, or parenting strain. Amanda’s background includes work treating addiction within the juvenile justice system in Washington State and on-campus services for school districts in southwest Washington.
For the past eight years she has worked in a level one trauma emergency room in Portland, providing clinical social work in high-acuity settings. That mix of community and emergency work informs a calm, practical style. Her additional focus areas include attachment and abandonment concerns, blended family issues, caregiver stress, codependency, body image, and forgiveness.
She also addresses sleep difficulties, anger, self-esteem, and challenges connected to ADHD. In sessions people can expect direct, compassionate feedback and simple tools to try between meetings. Amanda prefers collaboration - clients set priorities and the plan adapts as progress is made.
How Amanda’s Approaches Translate to Online Care
Amanda often uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people notice difficult thoughts and choose actions that reflect their values. ACT focuses on small steps toward what matters, which can be practiced between sessions. She also draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify unhelpful thinking patterns and try alternatives, a hands-on method that suits brief exercises and homework.Finding the right approach is a team effort. Amanda will talk with clients about their goals and preferences and will suggest ways to blend ACT, CBT, or client-centered listening to match what the person needs. Together they adjust pace, tools, and focus as progress unfolds.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which give flexibility for different days and tasks. Video works well for longer conversations and skill-building exercises. Phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth is limited or when a shorter check-in fits a busy day. Live chat and text let people send updates, practice brief exercises, or check in between meetings. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, school, or caregiving routines while keeping the work collaborative and goal oriented.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also works with
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 16 years
- Licensed
- Oregon
- Languages
- English