Amy Reamer

When Talking Alone Hasn’t Been Enough

Some people find it difficult to put their experiences into words. Others have talked about what happened, understand their patterns, and may even know what they are “supposed” to do—but still feel stuck.

Amy works with children ages 8 and older, teens, adults, couples, and families who are looking for something different from primarily talk-based therapy. She has a particular interest in working with people who:

• Have not found traditional talk therapy as effective as they hoped

• Find it difficult, uncomfortable, or exhausting to explain everything verbally

• Feel emotionally or physically stuck despite understanding their experiences

• Have developmental or physical disabilities that affect how they communicate or participate in therapy

• Want to understand and work with their nervous system, not simply manage symptoms

• Prefer creative, experiential, or body-based ways of exploring what is happening

• Want greater connection within a couple or family but keep getting pulled into the same patterns

Amy believes no one is “broken” or “bad.” Our brains, bodies, and relationships adapt to what we have experienced. Therapy can help us understand those adaptations with curiosity and compassion while discovering new possibilities for regulation, connection, and change.

Experiential Therapy for Individuals, Couples, and Families

Amy uses sand tray therapy to help clients explore experiences, relationships, internal conflicts, and patterns that may be difficult to access through conversation alone. The sand offers a way to create distance from an experience while also making the unseen parts of it more visible.

Depending on each client’s needs, Amy may combine sand tray therapy with EMDR, the Safe and Sound Protocol, parts work, Somatic Experiencing practices, or other experiential interventions. When sand tray is combined with the Safe and Sound Protocol, working in the sand can help clients remain grounded and engaged while listening.

With couples and families, sand tray can provide a different way to see what is happening inside each person and between them. This can be especially helpful when conversations repeatedly become defensive, circular, or disconnected. Amy integrates experiential work with Emotionally Focused Therapy and a systemic understanding of relationships.

The goal is not to eliminate conversation, but to create more ways for clients to communicate, understand themselves and one another, and experience something different.

Safe and Sound in the Sand

Amy developed Safe and Sound in the Sand, a specialized intervention combining the Safe and Sound Protocol with sand tray therapy.

The Safe and Sound Protocol uses carefully filtered music to support the nervous system’s capacity for regulation, connection, and a greater sense of safety. While listening, clients can use the sand and miniatures to stay grounded, follow what emerges, and express experiences without relying entirely on words. The combination creates an active, creative way to engage with the listening process rather than experiencing it as a separate or passive intervention.

This approximately 12-session intervention is available for children ages 8 and older, teens, and adults experiencing concerns such as anxiety, trauma responses, emotional dysregulation, shutdown, sensory sensitivities, or relational difficulties.

FirstPlay for Infants and Caregivers

Amy also offers FirstPlay for infants and their caregivers. FirstPlay uses nurturing touch, movement, rhythm, and play to strengthen connection and support regulation within the caregiver-infant relationship.

She has a special interest in supporting:

• Adoptive and foster families

• Teen and young parents

• Caregivers who feel uncertain about bonding with their infant

• Caregivers who lack confidence in their ability to understand or respond to their baby

• Families whose early experiences together have been affected by separation, stress, medical challenges, or other disruptions

FirstPlay is not about evaluating whether someone is a “good” parent. It provides a supportive space to become more confident reading an infant’s cues, responding to their needs, and building connection through shared experiences.

What Informs Amy’s Work

Amy’s approach is grounded in the understanding that healing involves more than our thoughts. She considers development, attachment, relationships, the nervous system, and the body when helping clients make sense of what may be keeping them stuck.

Her work is influenced by:

• Polyvagal Theory

• Attachment Theory

• The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics hierarchy and other developmental models

• Sand tray and play therapy

• EMDR

• Parts work

• Emotionally Focused Therapy

• The Safe and Sound Protocol

• Somatic Experiencing

Amy is beginning the Somatic Experiencing training and certification process and continues to integrate this learning into her broader developmental, relational, and nervous-system-informed framework.

Beyond the Therapy Room: CoRegulate Media

Amy is the founder of CoRegulate Media, which grew from her desire to make complex ideas about the brain, body, emotions, development, and relationships understandable beyond the therapy room.

Through books, characters, animation, and practical resources, CoRegulate Media helps children and adults make sense of what is happening inside them, outside them, and between them. Its work is grounded in the belief that people are better able to build regulation, connection, and self-compassion when they understand the purpose behind their reactions rather than viewing themselves as difficult, damaged, or failing.

Visitors can watch CoRegulate Media’s videos and animations on YouTube, where its characters help bring these ideas to life.

Amy is the author of Toby the Tiger Tamer, a children’s book developed from her play therapy work to help children understand what happens in their brains and bodies during moments of dysregulation. She is also developing Toby and the Land of What Ifs and additional books, animations, and resources that bring developmental and nervous-system concepts to life for children, families, and professionals.

CoRegulate Media’s books, workbooks, and practical resources are available through its online store.

She also provides professional training, workshops, consultation, and resources related to developmental trauma, play therapy, nervous-system regulation, attachment, and relational healing.

Leadership and Professional Involvement

Amy is the founder and owner of Heart & Mind Therapy Services. As her role within the practice has evolved, much of her work now focuses on supporting clinicians, developing specialized programs, teaching, writing, and creating resources that extend the reach of the ideas that have shaped her clinical work.

She is the President-Elect of the Virginia Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and was named the 2021 Virginia Play Therapist of the Year by the Virginia Chapter of the Association of Play Therapy.

Amy provides supervision for residents working toward LPC and LMFT licensure in Virginia, as well as supervision and consultation for professionals pursuing the Registered Play Therapist credential or integrating nervous-system-informed, play-based, and experiential approaches into their work.

Education and Training

Amy holds a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and a post-baccalaureate certificate in Psychology with a specialization in play therapy. She is pursuing a PhD in Infant and Early Childhood Development at Fielding Graduate University.

She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist-Supervisor and Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor. Amy has completed extensive training in play therapy, sand tray therapy, EMDR, the Safe and Sound Protocol, Polyvagal Theory, attachment, developmental trauma, and other relational and nervous-system-informed approaches.

Location and Availability

Amy maintains a small, specialized clinical caseload focused on clients who may benefit from experiential, developmental, and nervous-system-informed therapy.

She offers in-person therapy at Heart & Mind’s Powhatan office and accepts most insurance plans and self-pay clients.

Outside of Work

Amy enjoys traveling—especially opportunities to ride ATVs in different countries—going to concerts and hockey games, and cheering for the Carolina Hurricanes. Most of all, she enjoys spending time, traveling, and having fun with her husband, children, and grandchildren.

Interested in Working Together?

Amy welcomes inquiries from individuals, couples, and families interested in specialized experiential therapy, Safe and Sound in the Sand, or FirstPlay. You can submit a request for services to explore whether her approach may be a good fit for your needs.