Your Space for Growth, Authenticity, and Lasting Change
Bridging the Gap Between Outward Success and Inward Fulfillment
Welcome! I’m glad you’re here.
We all strive to live a life that feels both meaningful and successful. Yet some of us still carry a heavy internal weight. You may find yourself struggling with a quiet whisper that you aren’t doing enough, or perhaps you’ve developed a life-long habit of putting everyone else’s needs before your own.
Whether you are navigating anxiety or depression, managing a major life transition (peri-menopause/menopause, new parenthood, retirement, caregiver), or feeling exhausted by a cycle of negative body image, I want you to know: you don’t have to walk this path alone.
Meet Doctor of Psychology
Dr. Amy D’Ambrosio
I am an Ohio native who has lived in Arizona for over 20 years. In my free time, you will find me in the gym, in nature, or doing a puzzle.
As a licensed clinical psychologist for over 20 years, I am honored to support individuals as they navigate the complexities of life. Even the messy parts of life are embraced! Together, we’ll foster your unique strengths and work to replace old, self-limiting patterns with a renewed sense of purpose and motivation.
In this space, you are the priority. My therapeutic style is deeply collaborative and evidence-based, designed to help you reconnect with the most authentic version of yourself. We won’t just talk about change; we will actively create it. You already possess the resilience and tools needed to reach your goals; I am simply here to help you find your way back to your strongest, most authentic self.
Consultation
Complimentary 15 min consultation
Choosing a therapist is a deeply personal commitment, and you deserve to work with someone who truly “gets” you. I encourage you to take the time to meet with prospective therapists to ensure you find a genuine connection. Sharing your personal story can feel vulnerable; finding a space where you feel fully accepted, heard, and safe is the most important part of the healing process.
A complimentary consultation is a low-pressure way for us to get a feel for my therapeutic style, briefly discuss what brings you to counseling, and ask any questions you have about the process or my practice.
In-Person Individual Therapy
Individual 50 min therapy
I focus on one-on-one counseling using evidence-based approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Positive Psychology and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Therapy needs to be as unique as you! Each session we will develop at least one actionable step towards lasting change. We will continually re-evaluate your progress to be sure you are meeting your goals.
Teletherapy
Virtual 50 min therapy
For many, the most effective therapy is the one that fits into their life. Teletherapy allows you to engage in our work from the convenience and comfort of your own home. Using a secure, HIPAA-compliant video platform, we can bridge the distance, removing the stress of commuting and providing the flexibility your schedule requires.
A Note on Connection: While research shows teletherapy is highly effective for most concerns, I often encourage an initial in-person evaluation when possible. This helps us build a strong therapeutic foundation before transitioning to remote sessions.
Which type of therapy is right for me?
Finding the right approach starts with understanding your needs, goals, and preferences.
Dr. Amy
Welcome. I’m glad you’re here. How can I support you today?
New Patient
I’m looking for a thoughtful, holistic approach to mental health care. What does working together look like?
Dr. Amy
I can share information about my approach, what to expect, and how to get started when you’re ready…
In-Person
Provides a dedicated, neutral space away from daily stressors by “leaving work at work”.
Teletherapy
(Arizona Only)
Maximum flexibility with no travel time—accessible anywhere in Arizona and ideal for busy professionals or parents at home.
Hybrid
Many clients find a hybrid of in-person and teletherapy works best, and we’ll tailor the rhythm to support your growth.
Specialties
Anxiety
Understanding and Managing Anxiety
Anxiety can feel like a constant background noise that never truly shuts off, or a sudden wave that takes your breath away. While a small amount of stress can motivate us, for some, anxiety becomes a heavy weight that interferes with the ability to work, connect with others, and simply enjoy life. Anxiety manifests in both the mind and the body, often creating a cycle that feels difficult to break.
A Note on Well-being: It is important to recognize that untreated anxiety can often lead to symptoms of Depression.
Mental & Emotional Symptoms
- Persistent Worry
- Intrusive Thoughts
- Cognitive Fatigue
- Avoidance
- Sleep & Mood
Help Find Calm
- Identifying Your Triggers
- Cognitive Restructuring
- Coping & Mindfulness Skills
- Behavioral Shifts
Physical Symptoms
- Cardiac & Respiratory
- Physical Tension
- Gastrointestinal
- Sensory Changes
Depression
Understanding Depression: Finding Hope and Healing
Depression can feel like a heavy fog that dims the vibrancy of your life, making even the simplest tasks feel insurmountable. Depression often presents as a persistent sense of emptiness or a loss of interest in the things that once brought you joy. Because it can develop gradually, many people live with these symptoms for a long time without realizing that help is available. Depression is not a personal failure or a sign of weakness; it is a complex condition that affects your body, your thoughts, and your connection to the world around you. While depression can feel isolating, it is a highly treatable condition.
Important: If you or someone you know is experiencing thoughts of death or suicide, please do not wait. Help is available 24/7.
Call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or go to your nearest emergency room.
Emotional & Mood Shifts
- Persistent Low Mood
- Hopelessness
- Heightened Irritability
- Loss of Pleasure
Cognitive & Behavioral Changes
- Mental Fatigue
- Physical & Mental Slowing
- Social Withdrawal
- Unhealthy Coping
Physical Impact
- Sleep & Energy
- Appetite Shifts
- Physical Aches
Help Treat Depression
- Challenging the “Internal Critic”
- Behavioral Activation
- Regaining Control
- Setting Forward-Focused Goals
Self-Esteem/Body Image
Reclaiming Your Relationship with Your Body
Cultivating a healthy relationship with your body in a world dominated by diet culture and social media can feel like an uphill battle. Whether it is the weight of societal pressures or the lingering echoes of past criticisms, a negative body image can be paralyzing. It often leads to missed memories—skipping the beach, avoiding photos with loved ones, and living with a persistent sense of “not being enough.”
How Therapy Can Help
You have the power to change the way you think, see, and feel about your body. In our work together, we differentiate between body satisfaction and body positivity. It is possible to feel dissatisfied with certain aspects of your body while still choosing to honor, respect, and care for it. Our goal isn’t “forced happiness”; it is about protecting your mental health and building a shield against disordered eating by refusing to be self-destructive. The danger of a weight-loss-only focus is that when the scale doesn’t move, many people become discouraged and abandon the very habits that make them feel better.
Disclaimer: While therapy is a powerful tool for improving body image, it is not a substitute for medical treatment. If you are struggling with a clinical eating disorder, a multidisciplinary team including an eating disorder specialist, physician and dietitian is recommended.
Together we will use evidence-based approaches to get you there
- Cognitive Restructuring (CBT): We identify and challenge automatic negative thoughts—like “I don’t belong here”—and replace them with realistic, compassionate perspectives.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Rather than fighting to “fix” every difficult thought, you will learn to notice them without judgment, allowing you to align your actions with your values—like joy and connection—rather than your appearance.
- Behavioral Experiments: We gently test the “rules” anxiety has created through small, supportive experiments (such as wearing a specific outfit) to build confidence and reduce avoidance.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): We utilize “Radical Acceptance” and “Opposite Action” to manage intense emotions, helping you stay present and resilient even on difficult days.
- Celebrate Non-Scale Victories: We focus on increased energy, better sleep, and improved mood as the true markers of progress.
You deserve to take up space. Your worth is not dependent on your appearance, and you don’t have to wait for your body to change before you start living your life.
Grief/Health Issues
Navigating Grief and Loss
Grief is a deeply personal experience. It often arrives in waves, and unlike what we are told, it doesn’t always have a clear “end point.” Whether you are grieving the death of a loved one, the loss of a long-held dream, a health diagnosis, or the pain of infertility, your experience deserves to be honored exactly as it is. Too often, people are met with well-intentioned but dismissive comments like, “It was for the best,” or “It’s just part of a larger plan.” You are invited to bring your sadness, anger, guilt, and confusion into a non-judgmental room where your loss is fully acknowledged.
Honoring Your Process
Therapy isn’t about “getting over” a loss; it is about learning to carry it with you while finding a way to move forward into a new reality.
- Acknowledging the Reality: Fully processing the loss at your own pace.
- Working Through the Pain: Moving through intense emotions rather than avoiding or suppressing them.
- Adapting to a “New Normal”: Adjusting your daily life and identity to a world that has fundamentally changed.
- Maintaining Connection: Finding meaningful ways to honor a memory or a dream while continuing to live your life.
Perimenopause & Menopause
Navigating the Perimenopause & Menopause Transition
The transition into menopause is a profound season of change—one that rarely follows a predictable timeline. Unlike the familiar rhythm of a monthly cycle, perimenopause can feel like a loss of control. One morning, you may wake up feeling like yourself, only to find the next day marked by unexplained sadness, irritability, or heightened anxiety. If you feel like you no longer recognize your own emotions, please know this: You are not going “crazy.”
The Biological Reality
During this phase, hormonal fluctuations can significantly dysregulate the nervous system, intensifying your emotional highs and lows. Research indicates that unstable mood affects nearly 70% of women, with even higher rates for those who have a previous history of depression or anxiety.
Common Psychological Symptoms
- Mood Instability: Frequent mood swings, increased irritability, or sudden bouts of crying.
- Depressive Symptoms: Persistent low mood, fatigue, and a loss of interest in usual activities.
- Anxiety & Panic: A heightened sense of worry, restlessness, or the onset of panic attacks.
- Cognitive & Sleep Disruptions: “Brain fog,” difficulty concentrating, and insomnia.
- Identity Shifts: Changes in self-esteem and a shifting sense of self.
Managing the “Perfect Storm”
Oftentimes, these internal changes occur just as life becomes most demanding—frequently overlapping with career peaks, caring for aging parents, or navigating your children’s own hormonal shifts through adolescence. This “perfect storm” of stressors can feel overwhelming, but you do not have to weather it alone.
Therapy offers a space to process these changes, develop coping strategies, and reclaim a sense of control over your well-being. By working together, you can regain balance during the next-maybe greatest!-chapter of your life.
Life Transitions
Navigating Life Transitions: Finding Your Way Through Change
Life is defined by its seasons, but the shift from one to the next is rarely seamless. Major transitions—such as career changes, divorce, becoming a caregiver, or entering parenthood—can leave you feeling overwhelmed, fearful, or deeply fatigued. While these moments are undeniably challenging, they also represent a chance for profound personal growth. Therapy provides a safe, grounded space to process the “new normal,” gain clarity, and develop the resilience needed to move forward with confidence.
Your current situation is a chapter, not the whole story. You don’t have to navigate this transition alone. Together, we can turn a period of upheaval into a foundation for a stronger, more self-aware future.
How Counseling Supports You Through Change
- Fostering Resilience & Adaptability: Change is difficult. We focus on building the internal resources you need to “bounce back” and find stability.
- Developing Healthy Thought Patterns: Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), we identify and reframe the self-limiting beliefs that often emerge during crisis, such as “I’ll never get through this” or “Things will never get better.”
- Exploring Identity & Purpose: Major changes often lead to an identity crisis. We explore the question of “Who am I now?” and help you set meaningful goals that align with this new stage of your life. This helps to ground you in the present moment, reducing the “what-if” spirals that often accompany transitions.
- Solution-Focused Emotional Support: Together, we will work to help you find tangible, manageable steps to address the immediate stressors in your life.
Investing in Your Well-Being
Why Choose Private Pay?
Many clients find that paying out-of-pocket offers distinct advantages for their therapeutic experience.
- Complete Privacy: When you pay privately, your therapy remains strictly confidential. I am not required to share your diagnosis, treatment plan, or progress notes with insurance providers, ensuring your mental health records stay private.
- Personalized Care: We are not bound by insurance company rules regarding the number of sessions or specific treatment modalities. This gives us the freedom to customize a plan that truly suits your needs—whether that means longer sessions or incorporating creative techniques like art or narrative therapy.
- Continuation of Care: Your therapeutic relationship shouldn’t depend on your employment or insurance status. Private pay ensures that even if your insurance changes, your work with me can continue uninterrupted.
Insurance & Reimbursement
This practice does not bill insurance providers directly. Clients may be eligible for out-of-network reimbursement depending on their individual insurance plans.
Upon request, the practice can provide a monthly Superbill (a detailed receipt of services rendered). Clients may submit this documentation to their insurance carrier to seek potential reimbursement for a portion of session fees. Reimbursement amounts, if any, are determined solely by the insurance provider.
Clients are encouraged to contact their insurance company directly to inquire about out-of-network benefits for outpatient mental health services, including applicable reimbursement rates and coverage limitations.
Payment Policies
Payment is due at the time services are rendered.
The practice accepts all major debit and credit cards, including:
Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB, and Diners Club.
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) may also be used for payment, subject to the terms of the client’s plan.
Everything you need to know
Ready to take the first step and make a lasting change?
What can I expect during my first appointment?
The first session is often called an “intake” or “assessment.” It is essentially an introductory meeting where we get to know each other and see if we are a good fit.
- Your Story: We will discuss what brought you to therapy and what you hope to achieve. You set the pace; you don’t have to share everything all at once.
- A Holistic View: I’ll ask questions about your background, relationships, and health to understand the “big picture” of your life.
- How you might feel: It is perfectly normal to feel nervous or even a bit emotionally drained after your first session. Some people even feel physical fatigue as they finally release long-held tension. I recommend scheduling some light self-care or rest after our first meeting.
How long does therapy last?
There is no “one-size-fits-all” answer to how long the therapeutic process lasts. Because your history, goals, and needs are unique to you, the duration of our work together will be a collaborative conversation.
Understanding the Timeline
The length of therapy is generally influenced by three main factors:
- Your Personal Goals: Are you seeking support for a specific, short-term issue, or are you looking to explore deeper, long-standing patterns?
- Complexity & Severity: The depth of the symptoms you are navigating will naturally influence the time needed for healing.
- The Therapeutic Model: Different approaches have different rhythms. Some models are designed for shorter, focused interventions, while others invite deeper exploration.
What to Expect
Many clients begin to feel a shift and see measurable improvement within the first two to four months. Therapy is designed to be flexible; some clients choose to “graduate” once their initial symptoms become manageable, while others find immense value in ongoing sessions to address deeper thoughts and behaviors.
As you continue to improve, we may choose to spread out our appointments—transitioning to “check-in sessions” every few weeks or months—to ensure you feel supported as you integrate these new skills into your daily life.
Our Shared Goal
Ultimately, my goal is to help you feel empowered and equipped with the tools you need to navigate life effectively on your own. We will regularly check in on your progress to ensure that the pace and frequency of our sessions align with your current needs and season of life.
How can therapy help me?
Think of therapy as a collaborative partnership. While friends and family offer wonderful support, a therapist provides an objective, neutral perspective to help you identify blind spots in your thinking, understand the “why” behind your reactions and break cycles of behavior that no longer serve you. Therapy will help to improve your “toolkit” for navigating life’s challenges.
What do the letters after your name mean?
A Psy.D. or Ph.D. indicates an advanced doctoral degree in Psychology. This usually involves five to seven years of specialized, post-graduate study. These programs provide deep, clinical training and advanced coursework, ensuring a high level of expertise in psychological assessment and evidence-based treatment.
Where are you located?
We are located in the Northwest Part of Tucson, Arizona.
Office Address
7624 N. La Cholla Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85741
A Thoughtful Approach to Care