Amie Bilson

As a Mental Health Counselor and a Registered Nurse, I work from a holistic, trauma-informed perspective. I believe our health is an interplay between our physical bodies, minds, emotions, and spirits. If one part of us is hurting and left untreated, the others are affected. Through my long career as a registered nurse, my dream to help bring hope and healing to those suffering in mind, body, and spirit led me to seek an advanced degree in Mental Health Counseling. My interest and study have been in trauma recovery, mind-body-spirit connection, and how the messages and experiences from our growing-up years influence our health and life today. International travel to places like India, Singapore, and Jordan and working with refugees have further influenced my approach to helping people understand their lives.

My personal journey of working through the messages from my family of origin, infertility, parenting, and chronic family illness has helped expand my empathy, wisdom, and care in my work. I understand how hard it is to reach out for the first time to set up an appointment with a therapist. And how vulnerable it can feel to share your story with someone you do not know. As hard as it was for me, I am thankful I took the risk! Outside the therapy room, you can find me playing with my two young children, hiking and camping, painting, and enjoying a good cup of coffee.

You may feel like you are lost alone in the woods with a broken compass, an overweight backpack, and holes in your boots. You think, “How can I continue like this?” “What’s the point?” “Does anyone even care?” You are exhausted, fearful, lonely, and unsure of what to do next.

I want you to know that you do not need to travel alone. There is hope to surprise the weary. I started at Optimum Joy to help others discover and experience a safe place along the journey to set down their backpacks and rest, recover, regain their strength, and reflect upon where they have been, where they are going, and how best to continue.

I value collaborative relationships with my clients and believe that quality therapeutic relationships can facilitate lasting change. Together, we can create a plan to help you start feeling better soon. With your permission, we will begin with goal setting to focus our time together and develop concrete strategies to manage stress and intense emotions. In our sessions, we may practice stress management strategies, explore the connection between your thoughts, emotions, and actions, and utilize formal assessments to inform our work together. Later, our work may involve looking at how childhood experiences or past traumatic events impact your life now.

It is important to me that you feel safe, valued, and listened to as we work together. I look forward to partnering with you and learning what you hope to gain from this process, and I’m happy to tailor our time together to your individual needs. If you have specific areas you’d like to cover, I’d love to hear more about that. Your feedback is very welcome.

Remember the woodsy analogy? When you’re lost, what’s better than a warm cabin with lights on and smoke from the chimney? Come in, put your backpack down, grab a hot beverage, and rediscover your hope. Don’t wait to get started. I’d love to meet with you. Give me a call today.