Amy Klompenhower
Therapy doesn't need to feel mysterious or overly formal. I approach my work with curiosity, honesty, and a healthy respect for the complexity of being human. Since 2017, I have worked with children, adolescents, and adults in a variety of mental health settings, including intensive outpatient, residential, and inpatient psychiatric programs. I received my MSW in 2020 and have been practicing as a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker since 2023. I strive to meet people where they're at while offering transparent and direct feedback. Sometimes that means sitting with difficult emotions, and sometimes it means gently challenging beliefs, internal narratives, or patterns that may be getting in the way of the life you want.
First session
During our first session, we'll take care of the nuts and bolts of getting started, including any screening tools and intake information. From there, we'll have a conversation about your story, where you're at currently, and what you hope to get out of therapy so we can identify goals and start building a path forward together.
Strengths
I try to keep therapy feeling more like a conversation and less like a scripted therapist-client interaction. While we'll talk about serious things, I don't believe therapy has to be serious all the time. There is plenty of room for laughter, sarcasm, and moments of humor. Sometimes a good laugh is exactly what's needed to balance out the hard stuff. Life is not all rainbows, sunshine, and butterflies. There will be difficult seasons, disappointments, losses, and setbacks. My goal is not to eliminate those realities, but to help people navigate them with greater confidence and resilience. More broadly, my work is rooted in a desire to build community and belonging. When moments of joy, connection, peace, and meaning come along, I want people to be able to recognize them, and soak up all that life has to offer.
Ideal clients
In today's world, it's possible to feel incredibly alone while surrounded by people. Between global events, everyday stressors, relationship challenges, and what's happening inside our own minds, life can sometimes feel overwhelming. Add in past experiences, trauma, or patterns that once helped us cope but no longer serve us, and it's easy to feel stuck. In therapy, we'll work together to better understand your unique experiences, identify the stressors contributing to your distress, and explore ways to address them that feel realistic and manageable. My goal isn't to "fix" you, but to help you make sense of what's going on, strengthen your coping tools, and build a life that feels more connected, meaningful, and sustainable.
Origin story
As I tell my social work students, we are all social workers for a reason. While everyone's story is different, I think many of us are drawn to this work because we've experienced adversity ourselves and want to help others navigate the hard parts of life. I became a therapist because I believe people deserve the opportunity to better understand themselves, heal from what has hurt them, and make intentional choices about how they move forward. While we cannot change what has happened to us, we can develop new ways of understanding our experiences and responding to them.
Ongoing work together
My goal is for therapy to feel worthwhile and actually help move the needle on the things that matter most to you. A lot of the work happens between sessions through paying attention to patterns, trying new approaches, and noticing what comes up in everyday life. We'll use those experiences to guide our work together. Of course, life happens, and there will be times when we need to talk about the crisis of the week. But I don't want us to spend all of our time putting out fires and lose sight of the bigger picture. We'll work to stay focused on the underlying patterns and concerns that brought you to therapy in the first place so we don't get lost in the weeds and can keep making progress toward your goals.
Treatment methods
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
Feeling emotions at a 10/10 intensity often is overwhelming and exhausting. DBT offers practical skills to help individuals become more aware of their emotions, cope effectively during difficult moments, regulate emotional responses, and communicate more effectively with others. By balancing acceptance and change, DBT helps people build stronger relationships, improve self-understanding, and create greater emotional stability.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
When stress, anxiety, or difficult emotions take over, it is easy to get caught in a cycle of negative thoughts that intensify emotional suffering. CBT teaches skills to recognize these patterns, pause, and evaluate whether thoughts are accurate, helpful, or based on assumptions. By intervening earlier in the cycle, individuals can reduce emotional escalation, improve coping, and build confidence in their ability to navigate life's challenges.
Sex Therapy
I am currently pursuing a Sex Therapy Certificate through the University of Minnesota to expand my knowledge and clinical skills in supporting individuals and couples with concerns related to intimacy, relationships, sexual health, identity, desire, and communication. I believe that sexual health is health, and everyone deserves access to safe, consensual, and pleasurable experiences that align with their values and goals. My aim is to provide a supportive, nonjudgmental space where clients can explore questions, concerns, and experiences that may have felt difficult or uncomfortable to discuss in the past. Whether you are seeking greater self-understanding, improved communication, healing from past experiences, or a deeper sense of connection, therapy can offer an opportunity to explore these topics with curiosity, compassion, and openness.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Top specialties
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Licensed in
- MinnesotaLicense 29122