Amanda Verheyen, LMSW
Amanda Verheyen is a psychotherapist and Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) at Brooklyn Heights Behavioral Associates (BHBA). With over 15 years of accomplishments within personal, executive, and social settings, Amanda is a graduate of Columbia University, with a Master’s degree in Social Work, where she was part of the selective and intensive Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) training program. She is also certified in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a leading trauma treatment, through the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) training program.
At BHBA, her roles include individual therapist, DBT skills trainer and leader, and integral member of the clinical consultation team. Amanda utilizes dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), and EMDR interventions. She is drawn to DBT because of its emphasis on genuineness - promoting authenticity and humility in both patient and therapist - and its focus on the balance between accepting one’s context while motivating and paving the way for change in order to reach one’s goals. Amanda draws upon CBT to explore core beliefs and introduce alternate ways of thinking for more effective outcomes. Her special interests lie in attachment and trauma. She uses EMDR to bring to light deep-seated wounds and to support the reprocessing of painful memories, allowing for forward movement from trauma.
Amanda’s extensive professional background allows her to ensure a holistic, well-rounded, and realistic pathway for engagement, personal growth, and change. Amanda’s interest in mental health and helping others began as a young child when she experienced disease and disability in her family. Throughout her life, she has actively participated in counseling, teaching, and volunteer work. Her journey into psychotherapy and clinical work began when she pursued studies in marriage and family therapy at Seattle Pacific University before attending Columbia School of Social Work as an advanced clinical practice student. Her clinical internships include: providing individual therapy to children, adolescents, and adults at a private practice in Seattle; as a crisis counselor providing therapy and crisis intervention for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in New York City, where she helped over 400 people in crisis; and providing individual therapy and teaching DBT skills at BHBA prior to joining the team as a full time clinician. Her approach balances empathy- allowing her patients to feel seen, heard, and understood as they are- with a focus on the patient’s goals as a catalyst for change to ensure forward motion and growth. In addition, Amanda speaks four languages. In her spare time, she enjoys running, singing, and dancing.