Therapist profile
Amy Saarnio Wyka, LMSW, LCSW
Michigan
LCSW in Michigan and Wisconsin - family and trauma
Continue with AmyKey details
- CredentialsLMSW, LCSW
- LicenseLCSW, Wisconsin / 7487-123; LMSW, Michigan / 6801095312
- NPI1073750774
- Experience21 years
- LanguagesEnglish
- LocationMichigan
About
- Attachment-based work
- CBT techniques
- DBT skills
About Amy
Amy Saarnio Wyka is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing in Michigan and Wisconsin with 21 years of experience. She helps people facing family conflict, trauma and abuse, parenting struggles, and depression. Her approach is straightforward and practical, aimed at helping people notice patterns and try different ways of responding.
Amy focuses on building a direct working relationship. She encourages clients to speak plainly about what is happening in their lives. Sessions often include talking through recent events, identifying unhelpful habits, and practicing small changes that can reduce stress and anger.
She uses ideas from attachment-based work to look at how early connections shape reactions now. She also draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to spot thinking patterns that fuel upset, and on Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills for handling strong emotions. Motivational Interviewing and client-centered methods shape how she helps people set goals and choose next steps.
People come to Amy for many reasons beyond anger, including anxiety, grief, addiction concerns, sleep and eating issues, and relationship strain. She also works with concerns like abandonment, attachment problems, blended family dynamics, and caregiver stress. Her practice includes long-standing experience with complicated life transitions and chronic health stressors.
Her style is plainspoken and task-focused. She aims to help people gain clearer options and practical tools to manage reactions and move forward. To begin, clients follow the site process to match and schedule a first session.
How sessions work
How her approaches translate to online work
Amy blends attachment-based ideas with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and DBT skills in accessible ways. Attachment-based work looks at how early relationships influence current reactions and helps people notice relational patterns. CBT focuses on identifying and testing thoughts that escalate anger or anxiety, offering concrete ways to change unhelpful thinking. DBT provides short, teachable skills for tolerating strong emotions and improving communication.Choosing the right approach tends to be collaborative. Amy will discuss what feels most useful based on a person’s goals, history, and what they want to change. Together they decide which skills to try first and adjust the plan as progress and needs evolve.
Session formats are not listed on the profile, so confirm available options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life - for example, a shorter phone check-in can be scheduled during a work break, or video sessions can use visual cues for skills practice. The format chosen is meant to match practical needs like quieter surroundings, time constraints, and the type of skills being practiced.
Areas of focus
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
21+ years
Listed in
Wisconsin, Michigan
Languages
English
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does she support?
Amy helps with family conflict, trauma and abuse, parenting concerns, depression, anxiety, stress, addictions, grief, relationship and intimacy-related issues, sleeping and eating concerns, and anger.
How would she approach anger in sessions?
She uses practical conversation and skill building, including spotting thought patterns and practicing emotion-regulation techniques drawn from CBT and DBT.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has 21 years of professional work experience across clinical settings in Michigan and Wisconsin.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She holds MI LMSW and WI LCSW credentials and practices in Michigan.
Does she work in languages other than English?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are offered?
Confirm current session options before booking by using the site flow, as formats are not specified on the profile.
How does payment work?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I get started?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. A license can be checked with the state board.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If anyone is unsafe, use the crisis numbers.