Mom to a disabled child.
Marriage and family therapist. Author.
Advocate for parents.
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Amanda Griffith-Atkins is a licensed marriage and family therapist, author, and speaker based in Chicago. As both a therapist and mother to a child with a rare disability, she brings warmth, honesty, and clinical expertise to conversations about caregiving, relationships, burnout, and mental health. Amanda is the founder of Amanda Atkins Counseling Group and author of How to Handle More Than You Can Handle.
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Speaking, writing, and consulting on parenting children with disabilities, caregiver mental health, burnout, relationships and marriage, grief and ambiguity, family systems, health anxiety, and sustainable self-care.
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Parents and caregivers, therapists and helping professionals, educators, disability and rare disease organizations, healthcare providers, schools, parent groups, nonprofits, and communities supporting children with disabilities and complex needs.
Welcome!
Hello!Maybe you stumbled across this website in the middle of the night while hooking up a feeding tube, waiting for test results, or searching for someone who understands what this life can feel like. I’ve been there too, some days I’m still there!
I’m Amanda: a therapist, writer, speaker, and mom to a 17-year old with a rare disability. I know how isolating this journey can be. I know the fear, grief, anger, exhaustion, and the strange mix of loving your child deeply while also struggling under the weight of it all.
There isn’t much space for caregivers to talk honestly about our feelings. We’re expected to keep going, stay grateful, and hold everything together. But your emotions make sense. This journey is wild.
My work is about helping caregivers feel understood, less alone, and more connected to themselves in the middle of a life they never expected.
I’m so glad you found your way here.
