Amber N. Martin, M.Ed., NCC

Amber recently completed her Master’s Degree in human development counseling at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. While at Vanderbilt, Amber’s focus was community counseling with a specific concentration in women’s issues and eating disorders. While at Vanderbilt, Amber served as an active member of the Eating Disorder Coalition of Tennessee's YES! Team and assisted Vanderbilt's Institute of Medicine and Public Health in research regarding childhood obesity and parental influence. Prior to attending Vanderbilt University, Amber received her bachelor of art's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina. While at USC, Amber conducted research on PTSD in Hurricane Katrina evacuees and various studies regarding the risk    factors of ADHD in children and    adolescents. 

 Amber is now a part of the therapeutic team at Cornerstone Psychotherapy in North Atlanta. Amber is also serving as a member of EDIN where she plans to co-facilitate ANAD groups Monday Nights from 6-7pm at the EDIN office.

When asked to think about my theoretical approach, not only has my work with my clients guided my approach, but also, my own beliefs about human nature and developmental growth come into play. I believe that much of who we are today lies in what we experienced in the past. I feel that unconscious thoughts and emotions that have been manifested from infancy and childhood often play a major role in the irrational behaviors and thought patterns of people. This is where my psychodynamic approach comes into play in working with my clients. If fitting, I often explore past experiences with my clients to help them work through their current problems. 

In addition, I also feel like I have a strong Feminist approach. Traditional counseling and therapy theories are very much based on the gender, economic class, and cultural values of the men who developed them; therefore, there approaches sometimes leave out important aspects of the overall population. I love FCT (Feminist Counseling Theory) because its framework reflects greater respect for and understanding of the unique psychological development of women. While this theory, it helps to form psychological liberation and empowerment in my clients.

As women we live in a society that perpetuates various forms of sexism and patriarchy, affirms male characteristics and establishes that they are thus a more well-developed person, silences frustrations and anger that many women experience, and devalues women’s strength of connectedness. The FCT addresses all of these issues, but it can also be applied to male clients as well. While feminism is usually thought of as something that is directly opposed to men, FCT is used to teach all genders and races forms of psychological liberation and empowerment.  While using this theory, I address issues of power, sexism, the importance of self-in relation to others and connectedness.