Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Goins.
Hi Amy , thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in Whitehouse, a small Texas town a couple of hours east of Dallas. Before moving back to Dallas a decade ago, I went to school and lived in Arkansas for 14 years. As a freshman in college, I was set on becoming a therapist and started as a psychology major. After the first semester, I was completely in over my head. I quickly switched to communications because it seemed a lot more fun at the time and I didn’t feel locked into graduate school, which felt like a serious undertaking at the time. Looking back, I think part of me knew that I needed to experience some life before I was able to be the kind of therapist who would be able to make a meaningful impact on people’s lives.
I ended up studying broadcast journalism and spent six years working in a newsroom at a local news station in Little Rock. While there, I worked on the assignment desk, where I was the first point of contact for news tips and assigning news crews to cover the stories of the day. Eventually, I moved to a role where I oversaw digital content for the station. At that time, this was a pretty new role in a newsroom because social media was just beginning to emerge as another communication channel. However, that helped set me up for my next career in project management for the digital marketing agency world. There I worked with big and small companies to reach their digital marketing goals. My favorite part of that job was connecting with the people and problem-solving. In 2015, I moved to Dallas with my 7-month-old baby and a partner who was under a lot of stress. I was overwhelmed, stretched thin, and finally started therapy to make sense of these huge life changes. After the first session I knew this is what I wanted to do – to be the person in the chair supporting people navigating the many challenges of life. I needed help when my stressors outpaced my coping skills and learning the tools to do that changed my life. Through my own therapy, I figured out how to be a better partner, friend, a more present mother and how to show up for myself.
When I was 38, I started the clinical mental health program at Texas Woman’s University. I was working full-time and raising my young son. I knew pursuing my graduate degree and completing this program would take a while, but I started two classes at a time and went at the pace that worked for me and my family. Three and half years, and pandemic later, I graduated with my Masters of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. This was a huge accomplishment in my life, and I am still incredibly proud of myself for sticking with it and achieving this goal.
I’ve been seeing clients for four years. Waiting to become a therapist later in life gives me a unique perspective and insight. That life experience brings something to the therapeutic relationship that I wouldn’t have been able to bring if I had started earlier. During my training, and my first job, I received great experience working with several different issues and I found that I really love working with grief and trauma. Joining people during their hardest and darkest times, and walking with them, is one of the greatest joys of my life. I’ll always be in awe of my clients’ resilience and courage to face the most painful parts of their lives.
My family and I have been in East Dallas for more than 10 years now, and I love our neighborhood. That’s why I recently opened my private practice Amy Goins Counseling here. I feel so proud to serve this community that has given us so much over the years. I’m excited to continue growing here—both personally and professionally—and to give back in meaningful ways.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Like most people, my path hasn’t been without challenges.
Going back to school at almost 40 was definitely intimidating. I was working full-time, raising my young son, and trying to keep up with classes in a program that required a lot of emotional energy. I was surrounded by classmates who were younger, and I sometimes questioned whether I’d waited too long to start this chapter. There were plenty of nights I wondered if I was in over my head. Thankfully, I had a lot of support from my friends and family. That kept me going and now I love that I went back to school later in life! I tell people all the time it’s never too late to do something new.
Another challenging time was the pandemic. I was in the middle of grad school when it happened. Suddenly, I was working from home, parenting full-time with no childcare, homeschooling a kindergartener and trying to finish my degree in the middle of so much uncertainty. That time was absolutely overwhelming. It’s one of those moments in time where you are doing so many things and feel like you’re failing at all of them. But somehow, I kept going, even if it was just one class, one day, one assignment at a time. Looking back, I’m still not sure exactly how I pulled it off—but I did, and I’m proud of that.
Going to school for counseling also required me to do a lot of my own growth and personal grief work. Learning how to take care of myself while also taking care of my family was challenging at times but now I’m glad my son was able to see me do something fully for myself. He can also see that it’s never too late to follow a passion or a curiosity.
I’m a firm believer that with the right support, every painful moment in life is an opportunity to learn and grow, and that was the case over the last few years. My life is totally different than it was five years ago. I learned how resilient I am and that if something in my life isn’t working, I can make changes.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Amy Goins Counseling ?
Amy Goins Counseling is a private practice specializing in grief and trauma. I help people who’ve been through really hard things. Whether that’s loss, trauma, or life not going the way they expected, I help clients find a way forward that feels honest, doable, and rooted in self-compassion. When my clients are going through some of the worst times in their lives, they often need another person to join them in that pain in order to move through it.
I use a combination of traditional talk therapy and body-based interventions so that my clients can not just understand their patterns but really feel change in their nervous systems. I am trained in Eye Movement Desensitization (EMDR) and use this technique to help people heal from trauma responses that stem from difficult events. Many of my clients have shared that therapy with me feels like a conversation. It’s comfortable but deep, and I help them explore places they often can’t reach on their own. I place a strong focus on the therapeutic relationship itself because I believe that healing happens within the safety of that connection.
Religious trauma is another specialty of mine. A lot of us have been hurt within religion or because of religion, and I have a passion for helping people unpack those experiences and help them find their way. Whether they stay in their faith traditions or fully move on, I can help support them through that transition.
I also lead therapy groups for grief and a women’s processing group. I’m a huge believer in the power of a group of people coming together to share their lives and their hard things. Usually, when we are going through something hard, we think we are the only people on the earth facing that particular pain, and having a group of people can help someone not feel so alone. I have seen incredible growth and healing in a group setting.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Find your community and lean on them! No matter what stage of life you’re in or what goals you’re trying to accomplish, we are all better together. Find the people that build you up and support you on the good days and the bad days. I’m naturally more introverted so sometimes I do need to push myself to reach out to people but I’m always glad when I do.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.amygoinscounseling.com
- Instagram: @amygoinscounseling
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-goins-a918a21a/
Image Credits
Erica Connolly
