Amanda White, LPC

Introducing Amanda’s new book…Not Drinking Tonight: The Workbook

I am so excited to share that my new book, Not Drinking Tonight: The Workbook, is officially available everywhere books are sold!

Though I specifically designed it for therapists, this workbook will benefit anyone wanting to dig deeper into why they drink. And while it focuses on alcohol, think of alcohol as the portal to addressing a variety of deeper issues. It applies to all behaviors we use to numb our emotions, including eating disorders, diet culture, hustle culture, and more.

I took my last drink over eight years ago when there was no such thing as sober curiosity. You were either an alcoholic or you weren’t. I didn’t think I was an alcoholic, but I knew I couldn’t continue drinking the way I was either.

Not Drinking Tonight: The Workbook pivots away from the question, “am I an alcoholic?” and instead asks you to consider, “would your life be better without alcohol?” Most of us are never given the opportunity to ask this, let alone figure it out.

Each chapter contains worksheets and exercises that will help you examine why you drink with the same freedom and lack of stigma that we question our sleep patterns or food choices.

Learn to…

1. Regulate emotions without alcohol

2. Set and maintain healthy boundaries

3. Redefine what authentic self-care looks like

4. Navigate sober socializing, dating, and sex

5. Create a relapse prevention plan

6. BUILD A SOBER LIFE YOU LOVE!

Not Drinking Tonight: The Workbook isn’t a program to stop drinking. It’s the first workbook designed to help you address the root issues that cause you to reach for a drink and create a life you love—one that is not perfect but is messy and real and one you are fully present for!

I emphasize this because I genuinely believe *every* one of you find it massively useful. Regardless of where you are on the sobriety spectrum, rethinking your relationship with alcohol is a brave and revolutionary act. It’s a journey that will lead you to know yourself more deeply and discover what truly matters to you.

I am proud of this workbook and cannot wait to hear how you take the tools out of the book and into your life. I hope you will find it to be a supportive guide you can return to again and again.

Grab your copy here.

Cheers to a life you don’t need to escape!

Amanda is Therapy for Women’s founder and Executive Director. To learn more about Amanda, read her bio here.

MoodLinks & RecoveryRecord

Keeping treatment relevant, timely, and on track.

Therapy doesn’t need to be old school. At Therapy for Women, we believe in working to remain at the forefront of therapy techniques, methods, and technologies so we can best support our clients. Which is why we are proud to announce our use of MoodLinks and RecoveryRecord to deliver superior, life-changing care.

MoodLinks is designed to help stay connected between sessions. It provides the opportunity for clients to engage with evidence-based interventions outside of their therapist’s office in high risk moments. It also integrates cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy approaches into clients’ everyday life and visualizes progress for their specialists to deliver more personalized care.

MoodLinks…

MoodLinks allows clients to navigate their own unique paths to managing mood and receiving support on an ongoing basis. Clients can connect with their specialists for in-app support. They can also receive daily inspiration, plan ahead for triggering events, and access over 100 strategies for managing anxiety, depression, and stress.

True transformation starts with a genuine therapist-client connection, which starts with authenticity. MoodLinks helps Therapy for Women providers do so.

“I love that I can give praise in the app that clients can see before our next session together,” says Gabrielle Salomone, LCSW, Clinical Director of Therapy for Women.

RecoveryRecord…

Similar to MoodLinks, RecoveryRecord is a space for those specifically struggling with eating disorders. It allows clients to log meals and take notes in a live journal, which their therapist has access to. There are active coping skills built into the app, along with evidence based scales that highlight progress.

“Often, with eating disorders, clients feel isolated,” says Salomone. “This app allows me to check in on them between appointments. I can see when my client has challenged themselves. I can see when they are having a bad day. And I can send reminders and affirmations to them.”

If you would like more information about MoodLinks and RecoveryRecord, or if you would like to begin using one of the apps with your therapist, reach out to us!

Looking for a therapist or unsure where to begin? Get started on our booking page.

Not Drinking Tonight, Introducing Amanda’s Book!

I am so excited to share that the Not Drinking Tonight book… is officially available for preorder! This book is really my manifesto. It may be about alcohol, but I can guarantee you, every one of us will benefit from this book. It talks about alcohol use as a symptom of much deeper rooted issues (some mental health wise, some biological, some evolutionary and of course, how our society impacts us).

Here is the official blurb. I cannot wait for you to read it!

When “retired party girl” and popular therapist Amanda White admitted she was an alcoholic, it wasn’t because she’d done something outrageous while under the influence, like land herself in jail or get married in Vegas. It was because she realized three things: 1. Alcohol was making her life worse. 2. Moderation wasn’t helping. 3. She could not be a therapist if she continued to use alcohol to numb her life. Something needed to change—not just her relationship with alcohol, but her relationship with herself.

Choosing not to drink can be daunting. It’s everywhere in our culture, our socializing, and our de-stressing. It can also seem black or white: you drink, or you don’t (and if you don’t, people ask why). That’s where Not Drinking Tonight comes in. Judgement-free and relatable, Amanda helps you unpack your relationship with alcohol by showing you how to:

Find out why you drink. Whether it’s a glass of wine after work or a weekly bar crawl, your drinking habits can be the result of everything from biology to trauma.
Heal your relationship with alcohol. Understand how your relationships have been affecting your life, and learn how to set boundaries and create true self care.
Build the sober life you love. Learn what comes next—how to maintain your social life, navigate sex and relationships, and love yourself.

Not Drinking Tonight isn’t a program to stop drinking. It’s the first book to help you address the root issues that cause you to reach for a drink, and create a life you love—one that is not perfect, but is messy and real and one you are fully present for.

Click here to order it!

Amanda is Therapy for Women’s founder and Executive Director. To learn more about Amanda, read her bio here.

Why You May Want to Cut Back on Drinking

If you have ever wondered if sobriety is for you, let’s dive into this topic. And yes, you can be sober and STILL have this much fun!

Drinking is up all over the world right now, and it concerns me. Not because I’m sober and want to convert people, but because as a culture we don’t talk about the ways alcohol negatively impacts our mental health.

Instead we often say, some people are alcoholics and have problems and others don’t. It’s so black and white and protects us from having to honestly assess our behaviors.
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You do not have to be an “alcoholic” to stop drinking.
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You don’t even have to have meet any criteria on this list other than YOU WANT TO. Or want to improve your health.

If you’ve thought about your relationship with drinking, been longing to feel better, reduce stress and deepen your relationship with yourself and others… you may be sober curious!

Based on my experience, here are 15 reasons you may want to question (that means simply explore—no pressure or judgement here.)

Have you ever wondered: What could I gain if I stopped drinking or explored sobriety?

1. You WANT to

2. You’re sick of being hungover

3. You’ve started drinking alone

4. It’s negatively impacting your relationships

5. You’re known as the “fun one” in your friend group (when you drink)

6. Drinking no longer feels worth it

7. It’s negatively impacting your performance at work

8. You often tell yourself “I’m never drinking again”

9. You want to live a life you don’t need to escape

10. You wake up with anxiety and shame the day after a night out drinking

11. You’ve started adjusting your goals and values to fit your drinking habits

12. You have to drink more than you’d like to in order to get the same affect

13. You use it to cope with your emotions or anxiety

14. People have told you they’re concerned

15. Your entire social life revolves around drinking

There’s no right or wrong with this list, I’m not saying YOU HAVE to do anything if you meet criteria on this list, it’s just a space to get curious.
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When I first started exploring sobriety, I was (and still am!) so grateful for the many leaders of the sober curious movement and their openness about their experiences—which is a big part of why I chose to be open about my sober lifestyle, how I got here, and what it looks like.
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Those that are sober, how has your life improved since you stopped drinking?
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Those that are sober curious, what questions do you have about not drinking?!

To check out my book about sobriety, click here!

All My Love,

Amanda

How to Afford Therapy if Your Therapist Doesn’t Take Insurance

therapists from therapy for women center in philadelphia who take insurance

Does Therapy for Women Center take insurance? How can I afford therapy if my therapist doesn’t take insurance? We answer below in addition to other important questions you may have. Contact us at [email protected] if you have more questions or check out our full FAQ page .

Okay, let’s get into it…

Does Therapy for Women Center Take Insurance?

We do not take insurance directly but we do accept out-of-network benefits. So, if you have out-of-network benefits, you pay us upfront and we provide you with a statement to submit to your insurance for reimbursement. We do not take insurance. Insurance companies require us to diagnose, which can have a negative impact on your ability to get coverage in the future.

They dictate how long therapy is. Often, they will only give people a few sessions of coverage and then the therapist has to fight the insurance company to get more sessions. An insurance company can look into your sessions and decide if you are making progress at a rate they are satisfied with or not.

I have out of network benefits, how do I know how much money I will get back?

Call your insurance company directly. Ask them if you have mental health benefits and if you have out-of-network benefits. Ask them what your deductible is. Some people have a very low deductible, other people have a $5,000 deductible. For example, you would have to pay $5,000 out of pocket on medical expenses BEFORE your insurance company would start reimbursing you. Ask your insurance company if they cover the code 90834 which is for a 50-minute psychotherapy session.

How can I afford therapy?

Therapy can be expensive. It really is an investment in yourself. There are three main tricks to get quality mental health treatment AND save some money.

Get reimbursed by your insurance company for sessions.
2. Use an HSA (Health Savings Account) or FSA if you have one. We use them just like a standard credit card.
Asking for sliding scale availability. This is a discount off of a therapist’s standard rate.
Go to a practice with Therapist Interns, like us!

I don’t live in the Philadelphia area, can you see me as a client?

Yes! We currently serve many states across the country and have therapists licensed in different states. Contact us to learn more about our current availability and see if we can work with you!

My Favorite Hack: How To Take Care of Your Future Self

Despite what society tells us, self care is not something that you buy. There’s no price tag on it. And its difficult because there are so many different beliefs about what it is and what is it not. Here’s a general guideline: ask yourself, “What will my future self thank me for?” OR “What will best help me for tomorrow?”

A woman reading by engaging in self care and taking care of her future self

“Self care looks like doing something right now that you don’t want to do in order to take care of your future self.”- Amanda E. White, LPC

Self Care is Thinking of Your Future Self

I got a lot of feedback on Instagram that this was helpful but also some confusion with people saying things like…

“If I live my whole life like that, I will never rest, that sounds exhausting!” I hear you. But I also think we may be misunderstanding the concept then.

If you’re sick, skipping the gym, calling out of work, pushing away laundry and SLEEPING are something your future self will thank you for.

If you are feeling blue, only you can decide and discover if skipping plans will make you feel better or worse.

The Harsh Truth About Self Care

This is the thing: we all want a black-and-white rule. Something that we can always rely on to follow. But life isn’t like that. Self care is certainly not like that. Context is everything. Your motives and intentions behind what you do matter.

AND most importantly, what may be self care for you may not be for someone else. So try to not compare yourself with other people (especially on Instagram!) We all have different needs and values, so our self care is going to look different.

Try to not be hard on yourself and give yourself grace to remember, that learning how to take care of yourself is a lifelong JOURNEY. It will evolve and change depending on what’s going on in your life.

In the meantime, here are some of my favorite ways to take care of myself that are FREE.

Cleaning mindfully
Going for a mindful walk
Journaling mindfully
Exercising without technology
Cooking – especially while watching reruns
Reading
Stretching
Listening to music- especially a really great nostalgic track that reminds me of a favorite memory
Taking a bath

My challenge to you this week – practice self care at least once this week!

Warmly,
Amanda

To learn more, contact us or book an appointment.