Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Howard.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up during the 80s and 90s in metro Atlanta as the kid of a Methodist minister during the height of the purity culture movement. Since high school, I knew I wanted to be a therapist and work one on one or two on one with people. During my graduate school training, I completed a unit on the topic of sexual functioning and found it so liberating to talk openly about accurate, sex positive information. I decided at age 22 that I wanted to become a sex therapist. After graduating from my Master’s program in Marriage and Family Therapy at Auburn University, I sat for my licensure exam and began earning hours toward full licensure to become a Marriage and Family Therapist. Several years working in community mental health and providing in-home therapy for teens in the Juvenile Justice System as a young person in my 20s gave me the hours I needed to earn my LMFT license. I moved away from community mental health and joined a private agency and then had the freedom to pursue certification to become a sex therapist. I started my private practice in 2011 and began seeing clients who were seeking help with intimacy issues. I’ve been working in private practice as a Certified Sex Therapist since 2013 and have a thriving practice focused on couples and sex therapy.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve been extremely fortunate to have mentors and colleagues who brought me under their wing and showed me how to effectively create and sustain a private practice. During the process of working toward sex therapy certification, I had my second child and then two years later, I had my third child. After each maternity leave, it was more challenging than I expected to rebuild my practice, but in 2022, being six years away from that last maternity leave, I’ve built a large referral network and am involved in several consultation groups comprised of fellow therapists. The community of sex therapists in the Atlanta area is fairly small, so most of us know each other and cross-refer.
As you know, we’re big fans of Atlanta Couples and Sex Therapy. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Atlanta Couples and Sex Therapy is a private practice run by one clinician, me. I specialize in sexuality and intimacy-related concerns including specific sexual functioning issues like Erectile Dysfunction, Early or Delayed Ejaculation, Vaginismus, Dyspareunia or painful intercourse for women, orgasm difficulty, desire differences in couples, and OCSB (out of control sexual behaviors) to name a few. The bulk of my practice is made up of couples, but I do see individuals as well. I also do a lot of work with couples wanting to heal through the pain of an affair.
I meet with couples for an initial session to hear from both of them regarding their view of the problems they’re experiencing, ask them what all they have done to address the problem, and then we’ll set some goals for the therapy process. After that initial session, I’ll meet with each partner for two individual sessions each where I’ll get a full, comprehensive picture of who they are as a person asking specifically about family of origin relationships and dynamics, messages they received as a kid and teen about sex and sexuality, religious upbringing, and do a detailed sexual history and relationship chronology. And I’ll ask about specific dynamics in their current relationship without their partner sitting right beside them. After those individual sessions, I bring the couple back together for a feedback session where I’ll share my clinical observations about what I see happening on a surface level, what I see on a deeper, more psychological level, and I’ll make some specific suggestions and recommendations about what therapy will look like moving forward. So, couples get a treatment plan that’s specifically tailored to them.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
A common question I get from family and friends is regarding my ability to “bring my work home with me.” I hear almost on a daily basis about people’s sexual trauma and walk with people through a lot of sexual shame that, at times, can be very emotionally heavy. I’ve learned over the years and with quality training how to let that go while still holding compassion and empathy for the client. Two specific ways I manage the emotional weight of my career involve movement: I enjoy running and I’ve been taking drum lessons for a little over a year. High energy movement helps move the stress from my body after sitting with and holding space for a clients’ pain.
Pricing:
- $200 for couple and individual sessions
Contact Info:
- Email: Amyhowardtherapy@gmail.com
- Website: AtlantaCouplesandSexTherapy.com
- Instagram: atlantacouplesandsextherapy
- Facebook: Atlanta Couples and Sex Therapy
Image Credits:
Photo by Kelly Blackmon
