Amanda Rowett | Santa Monica Christian Counseling

Schedule with Amanda

Amanda Rowett, MA, LPCC

Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor
(424) 361-6197

I am passionate about meeting people in their darkest places to help them discover their best self. I support my clients in developing a solid self so they can remain grounded while facing life’s challenges. Whether you are confronting your fears, mourning a loss, finding your voice, or healing from trauma, I believe God is present and actively working on your behalf. The foundation of my work is based upon the belief that all people have intrinsic significance and every person’s story matters and is worth hearing.

Online Counseling

About Amanda

God makes a way even in the most hopeless of circumstances.

“Even when their paths wind through the dark valley of tears, they dig deep to find a pleasant pool where others find only pain. He gives to them a brook of blessing filled from the rain of an outpouring. They grow stronger and stronger with every step forward…” (Psalm 84:6-7, TPT)

In our darkest valleys, God is with us. He is able to turn our places of weeping into a life-giving spring. Together we will search for the redemptive thread that God is weaving into your life. When we dig deep, we can find places of refreshing and healing.

My Goal as a Christian Counselor

Therapy is built upon a collaborative alliance in which we’ll work together on the issues that mean the most to you. My goal is to help my clients align with their truest and most solid self. I invite the best in you to rise to the occasion and courageously lean into the discomfort of growth. My role is to help you relate to yourself in a way that promotes healing, as well as to help you create the internal structure needed to increase your functioning in life. My hope is that you would find your ground and take up your space in the world.

What I Offer in Christian Counseling

For pain to heal, it must be processed. I facilitate a sacred experience for you to process what has happened to you. I bear witness to my client’s pain and hold space with them in their dark places. Together we honor the wounded self and celebrate who you are becoming. It takes courage to look within, confront pain, and engage in hard conversations. I will teach you to slow down, listen, and attune to what is happening inside so you can make sense of your internal world. You will discover the magnitude of your intuitive voice and cultivate a respect for your needs. I invite my clients to deeply connect to their inner core so they can unearth the brilliance within and fully show up in life, as well as empowering people to align with their integrity and core values so they can live a congruent and meaningful life.

My Approach to Christian Counseling

The atmosphere I seek to create is one of honor, permission, and freedom. I believe all people should be treated with dignity and respect. My therapeutic style is relational, educational, and oriented toward evoking the deep work of the heart. Therapy is a co-creative and organic process, where we unearth, discover, and build together. I approach counseling from a differentiation model, which means I support people in owning their individuality while growing meaningful relationships. I utilize psychodynamic, interpersonal, mindfulness, systems, CBT, attachment, and somatic therapeutic modalities. When I am with a client, the most important questions I seek to answer are, “Who are you? What do you need? What is most important to you?” As a Christian counselor, I create space for you to connect to God and invite Him into your healing process. I draw upon biblical truths and rely on the guidance of the Spirit.

Biography

Qualifications & Experience

I received my Masters of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Northwest University in 2010. Northwest is accredited by the Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities. My graduate program included an emphasis on faith, social justice, and culture. My bachelor’s degree is in psychology with a minor in biblical literature.

I have extensive training and experience with bereavement counseling. Through my clinical internship at Providence Hospice and Homecare, I helped clients work through the pain of grief. With over 10 years of private practice experience, I have gained expertise in helping individuals navigate loss, relationship issues, codependency, childhood trauma, and self-abandonment. I am a dually licensed counselor and able to serve clients residing in California and Washington State.

My Call to Christian Counseling

I always wanted to be a therapist. From a young age, I was fascinated with how relationships worked and curious about human behavior. I intuitively knew things about people, easily identified patterns, and enjoyed solving problems. My own trauma compelled me to search for more than the status quo. Even before I knew God, He was guiding me with His wisdom. I learned to resource my pain and discovered how to use it to better my life. When I met Jesus, I encountered hope and deeply connected to His heart to redeem pain. I wanted to create a space where people could anchor to redemption. My work as a therapist is personally meaningful because I give my clients what I wished I knew. To guide people along the journey of self-discovery and healing is truly a privilege.

More About Me/On a Personal Note

I have been married for 14 years and have a 6-year-old son. We moved from Seattle to Redding in 2018. We like the small-town feeling of Redding and have a passion to see the city thrive. I love Jesus and enjoy creating community. My favorite moments in life are connecting with the ones I love around the dinner table. I love palm trees, coffee, fitness, traveling, nutritional wellness, and writing. I thrive when I am learning something new and feel inspired.

Services & Specialties

Areas of Expertise/Specialties

Codependency

Codependency is an unhealthy, one-sided relationship in which two people are unable to act independently from each other. This type of enmeshed relationship can be very difficult to untether yourself from because it is fraught with emotional entanglement, guilt, over-involvement, control, rescuing, and high expectations. The codependent feels responsible for the dependent. It is the choice to fulfill someone else’s needs to such a degree that it costs you yourself. In therapy, I will help you identify your codependent patterns and discover the root of this survival mechanism. Understanding the why often releases us to choose something different. I will teach you self-regulation, boundaries, assertive skills, and confrontation techniques, as well as how to release responsibility for what is not yours and let go of control. The heart of our work will be on grounding to your intrinsic worth, fostering internal safety, and living a life congruent with your heart.

Grief & Loss

Navigating loss is one of the most painful human experiences. Grief is not pathological, but a normal visceral reaction to loss and often a sign of your emotional investment. I offer a nonjudgmental, safe space for you to process the significance of the loss and explore how it has impacted your life. Together we will go on a sacred journey of allowing your heart to grieve. You will learn radical honesty and self-compassion. Though grief is a universal experience, it is also an incredibly personal one. I will help you identify your grieving path and give you tools to work through the pain of grief. I am here to support you as you adjust to the new normal and get your bearings. Much of our work will focus on two questions: How can I honor my grief, and how can I take care of myself today?

Abandonment

Abandonment issues are intense fears of losing connection with someone you care about. These anxieties originated from experiences that left you feeling like you could not count on others to take care of you or be there for you in the way you needed. Connection is a basic human need, which is why abandonment is a traumatic shock to your system; you suddenly feel cut off from a significant relationship. Many people turn against themselves because they believe something is inherently wrong with them. Self-betrayal becomes the way they preserve relationships and avoid further rejection. Your need to feel safe, connected, and loved is important. In therapy, you will learn how to challenge shame and take your power back. We will explore how you can show up as your greatest advocate. I will teach you how to break patterns of self-betrayal, confront fear, shift unhealthy relationship dynamics, and gain self-respect. Our focus will be on rebuilding trust with yourself, connecting to your intuition, and validating your self-worth.

Trauma

Childhood trauma can profoundly wound us and impact adult functioning and interpersonal relationships. Trauma is not limited to acute or catastrophic events. Trauma is also the chronic weathering of the soul through ongoing interactions that inflict deep emotional, psychological, and physical pain. I create a safe space for you to process in the presence of someone who will hear your truth. All your feelings are welcome here. You can bring all the parts of yourself here. Your tears are real. Your pain matters. Your voice deserves to be heard. Part of trauma work is learning to safely reconnect to yourself and bless a body that has endured shame, fear and suffering. I help my clients attune to the needs of their inner child and explore with them what it looks like to nurture and heal their younger self. You will learn how to deeply love yourself in the pain as well as how to advocate for yourself and reclaim what was stolen from you.

Marriage Counseling

Conflict is normal and an inevitable part of marriage. Relationships are hard work and invariably push on our pressure points. The question is, how will you show up in the conflict? When we dodge what feels painful, issues are left unaddressed, emotional wounds deepen, walls ascend and hearts harden. It takes courage to want more and do something about it. Couples counseling is for anyone who wants more than the status quo. This interactive process is designed to slow you down and help you reconnect to yourself and your spouse. It is a time to be laser focused on taking responsibility for the relationship you want. We will lean into the discomfort of confronting the issues that cause your marriage to suffer, in exchange for the promise of growth and healing. I address the big picture of your couple dynamic and help you pinpoint the root issues. I break down the impact of your everyday interactions and provide you with direct feedback. I will show you how to invest in the well-being of your relationship and how to use conflict as a refining tool to cultivate deeper intimacy and resiliency.

Payments & Forms

Sessions: I offer 50-minute sessions. Sessions can be held more than once per week, weekly, or every other week. Scheduling options are discussed in greater detail during your Risk-Free Initial Session.

Availability (by office location):

Online Counseling – Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays

Fees: I offer a Risk-Free Initial Session for Individuals and Couples looking to pursue counseling with me. Please note that there is a fee for the Risk-Free Initial Session as it is a clinical hour and reimbursable to most insurance companies, but if you choose not to reschedule and continue therapy after the initial session the entire fee for the session will be waived.

Insurance: As a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), some insurance companies will reimburse for a portion of my services (as an Out of Network Provider). Please consult with your insurance provider as to whether they specifically cover adolescents, individuals, and couples.

Receipts/Statements: In the event, you require a printed or digital receipt, I will provide receipts for personal use, insurance reimbursement, Flex Spending Accounts (FSA), and Health Savings Accounts (HSA).

Payment options: Cash, Check, or Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, & American Express).

Individual Form

Focus Areas

Abandonment and Neglect
Anxiety
Coaching
Codependency
Depression
Grief and Loss
Individual Counseling
Infidelity and Affairs
Marriage Counseling
Online Counseling
Personal Development
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Premarital Counseling
Professional Development
Relationship Issues
Spiritual Development
Trauma
Women’s Issues