Dr. Amanda (Banes) Darnley (pronouns: she/her) is a licensed clinical psychologist with over a decade of experience working with children, adolescents, and their parents in a variety of settings including inpatient hospitals, residential treatment facilities, and outpatient practices. She has a soft spot for ‘tweens, teens and new moms, and enjoys helping them navigate the transitions that are a hallmark of those developmental stages. Dr. Darnley’s warmth and gentle humor naturally create a nurturing space where her clients feel safe and supported. 

 

Dr. Darnley wholeheartedly believes that it takes a village to raise a child and approaches therapy in the spirit of collaboration and connection- working not only with caregivers, but also community supports, other healthcare providers, and schools in order to best help the whole child. She creatively tailors proven interventions to meet the needs of the clients in her care. She considers helpful therapy to be one that simultaneously promotes acceptance and change.  

 

In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Darnley holds a supervisory position at Horizon House residential services, where she leads skills groups and team consultations. She has previously supervised graduate students at Friends Hospital, where she created a therapeutic workbook that has been published and is now given to each patient upon admission.

 

Dr. Darnley received her BA with Honors from La Salle University. She completed her Master’s in Mental Health Counseling from Adelphi University and went on to become a licensed practitioner in the state of New York, where she developed and ran an outpatient program for adolescents struggling with addiction. Philadelphia soon beckoned again, and she returned to La Salle University to earn her doctorate in Clinical Psychology. She completed both her predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship serving youth and families that have been significantly impacted by trauma.

 

In her free time, you can find Dr. Darnley enjoying the riverfront with her husband and son, or revving up her power tools to bring new life to old pieces of furniture.