Meet Amanda
Hello! My name is Amanda Noyes. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker–Supervisor and I have studied, worked, volunteered, and specialized in trauma, loss and grief treatment since 2004. While I have specialized in combat PTSD for the last decade, I am passionate about providing hope and healing to all first responders and those individuals who have endured (or are continuing to endure) horrific traumas and unspeakable losses.
Helping Texans through Trauma and Tragedy
After graduating from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, with a degree in both psychology and international studies, I returned to my hometown of Austin, Texas. While I obtained my masters of science in social work from the University of Texas at Austin, I was employed full-time at Austin Travis County Mental Health/Mental Retardation (MH/MR) in the ANEW program, which was designed to reduce recidivism of people on parole and probation who had been diagnosed with bipolar, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective disorders. It was during my time at MH/MR that I was introduced to crisis counseling when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita impacted much of the Gulf Coast and residents were relocated to the Austin area after their homes had been devastated. Throughout my time in Austin, I also had the privilege of volunteering with the Pflugerville Police Department’s Victim Services program, where I was on-scene assisting families after tragic events.
For my final graduate internship, I had the incredible opportunity to be selected by the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Administration Hospital in Houston, Texas, where I worked with veterans through both their mental health and medical programs. Upon graduation, I took a position with Social Work PRN, a social work staffing agency that allows social workers to assist in multiple different roles throughout the country. Through Social Work PRN I was placed at Texas Children’s Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where I had the very humbling experience of working with terminally ill children and their families.
Medical Social Work
Next, I selected a position at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., a level-one trauma center. I worked throughout the hospital assisting patients with resources and adjusting to difficult and life-altering news. I spent a majority of my time at this hospital on the neurology floor, where I worked with patients who had sustained traumatic brain injuries or head traumas.
Following Social Work PRN, I was hired at Inova Fairfax hospital in Fairfax, Virginia, another level-one trauma center, where I worked in the ICU and ER. While there I also worked on the OBGYN unit helping parents who had been impacted by a fetal demise or perinatal loss. In addition, I was a part of the hospital’s trauma on-call team helping families and patients during times of loss, injury, or death.
When I returned to Texas, I continued with medical social work at Baylor Medical Center in Carrollton, Texas. I worked on the cardiac floor and initiated the first steps to create programs so that social workers would be present in the emergency department and the intensive care unit to assist with end of life decisions, resources, and advocacy.
Finding Freedom
In 2010, a colleague of mine who knew of my own personal connection to the military after my brother-in-law was killed in action (KIA) in Iraq introduced me to Freedom Care, an inpatient military program in Denton, Texas. After learning about this program, I made the transition from medical social work back to mental health. I was honored to, over time, become the lead trauma therapist at Freedom Care, where I worked with active duty military and veterans diagnosed with combat PTSD.
In 2015, I ventured out on my own and founded Finding Freedom Therapy, PLLC, a private psychotherapy practice created specifically to help individuals who have suffered loss, grief or trauma.
Each and every step of my career has shaped and strengthened my ability to better assist you through the most difficult times in your life.
I am a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional and am professionally trained in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) which I have specialized in since 2011. I am also a parent facilitator for Circle of Security Parenting (COSP). I am in network with BCBS, Medicare, and Tricare.