Introductions
Maybe you’re like me and you’re looking for something new to learn, a community that is authentic and safe, a place to air out the thoughts that aren’t totally formed yet to make up your mind where you land.
If so, you’re in the right spot!
Hi, I’m Amanda Rudd. For the purpose of this blog, I am a psychotherapist operating a private practice in the US in 2025. Enough said.
I have been a psychotherapist since 2007, and had my own private practice since 2012. I have a background in treating depression, anxiety, trauma, and PTSD-related symptoms with the use of CBT, EMDR, and other eclectic modalities. But what I’m most interested in these days, is connecting beyond the walls of my (very pretty, but limited) office. Because we are all “wired for connection”, it only makes sense to honor this innate need.
Here we are, full-swinging into 2025, which has easily been the most chaotic and disheartening month (has it only been a month…?) of our lives. And this is following a pandemic, deep isolation, and deep political, social, and religious divides happening on every front. What are we to do?
I don’t know about you, but I need to find ways to ground myself without putting myself actually in the ground. I need community, but not just any people to be around. I need to know that there’s hope - and if I can’t find it, that someone around me can remind me of it.
My hope and plan for this space is to expand on some thoughts I’ve been mulling about, or conversations I’ve had with my very smart friends (all therapists…not an accident!), or patterns that I see in the world that have brought meaning to my life and maybe yours too. And sometimes, maybe it’ll just be a picture of my dog Spencer. Because he’s freaking cute and the whole world should get to be a part of that!
I’ve had this idea that this blog should be called, “50-Minute Hour”, because that’s what therapists offer, and its just a funny thing to say. Obviously, we know that real hours are 60 minutes, so why does the therapist charge for a whole hour but interacts only 50 minutes of that time? What happens in that ten minutes? What is that like for the therapist? Are they consulting with the “Head Therapist”? Are they breathing into a paper bag or doing a head stand? … I hope to give a picture of the person behind the therapist, and a peek into that ten minutes (metaphorically, of course) here.
