nice to “meet” you!
If you’re looking for a personable mental health professional who’s genuinely relatable and offers science-backed ways to change, let’s GO!
Specialties
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps with human suffering no matter how it’s labeled. When using its strategies outside of psychotherapy, ACT refers to Acceptance & Commitment Training. Either way, as an ACT practitioner, I’m less concerned with labels, diagnoses, and how you appear to behave on the outside. I’m much more concerned with what you get (or get to avoid) by doing (or not doing) whatever it is that keeps you struggling.
For example, you may people-please because you fear being judged. Or you may go along to get along because you’re very empathic and prefer not to feel other people’s disappointment. In these scenarios, your outward behaviors look the same, but what’s going on for you behind-the-scenes is quite different.
That’s why we’ll look at what you do, think, and feel in both your inner and outer life. Then, I help you experience new ways to be with your thoughts and feelings. I ensure you understand how to use those strategies in your real life, so you can do the things that matter to you.
Our work helps you be who you want to be-no matter what your mind says about it.
Though ACT allows me to work with many human experiences, I am especially effective at helping:
- people-pleasers and highly sensitive or empathic people
- people who struggle with anxiety or body image
- adults who had hard childhoods
- people moving through grief, loss, or difficult change (e.g., divorce, empty-nesting, death, silhouette-altering breast surgeries)
WHY THESE SPECIALTIES?
I always say “your truth is all you need.” So my honest answer about why I gravitate toward these experiences is that I’ve been there myself. I may not know your exact experiences or lived your life, but I’m a highly sensitive gal who has personally dealt with the things on my specialty list. I understand the feelings that come with them far beyond the clinical level.
You can visit my blog to learn more about my approach to women’s wellbeing, people-pleasing, adverse childhood experiences, anxiety, and adjusting to difficult change, grief, or loss. It also offers many articles for women moving through explant or explant-to-flat.
Bottom line – I’m good at this work…and I enjoy it. Though I can’t end your suffering, I promise that I’ll honor it and teach you things that help you live your life despite the inevitability of inner pain. If you’ve read this far, it probably means you’re ready for some real, meaningful, and lasting change.
personal bio
I enjoy spending time outside as much as possible. I love sunlight sparkling on water, moonglow is even better. The sound of leaves rustling in a breeze is my favorite. I’m a total bird nerd.
I consider myself a southerner, having grown up in Orlando, FL and then spending over two decades in Atlanta, GA. I’ve lived outside Chicago since 2017 and winters are super hard on me because the sun abandons us for weeks at a time!
I’m a hard core Star Wars fan. I’m pretty sure I’m totally in love with Edward Cullen. And I would go back to school again if I got a letter from Hogwarts!
I’m a wife, mom, daughter, and sister. Although our nest is emptying out, I’m still “momma cat” to our two Siberian Forest cats.
Though I’m a survivor of sibling suicide and someone familiar with chronic pain, both experiences remind me to fully embrace life every single day.
professional bio
Amanda Savage Brown, Ph.D., LCSW is a torchbearer for those seeking mental liberation from painful pasts, feared futures, and socially-learned rulebooks. In 1999, she earned a Ph.D. in genetics. She then worked for over a decade as an officer in the United States Public Health Service. In 2013, she earned a clinically-focused MSW. She now owns a private psychotherapy practice.
In 2018, her personal life and professional expertise aligned as she moved through her own explant journey and witnessed countless other women struggling with the deeply felt, yet poorly supported, mental, emotional, and social aspects of breast implant removal. To address these unmet needs, Amanda wrote the award-winning self-help book, Busting Free. She has companioned many hundreds of women through the harder-to-see but deeply felt inner journey of silhouette-altering breast surgeries.
In 2025, Amanda completed the Masters of Wisdom & Meditation Teacher Training with davidji. She now offers community-based meditation groups to help people move from disconnection to deep connection.