amy lorraine au

I’m a native Texan who took a 17-year detour through Asia with Cru International before putting down roots in the beautiful state of Colorado. I’m a lover of words and images. I’m curious about the adjectives people use to describe themselves, love to mine truth from Oscar-nominated movies, regularly seek solace in the poetry of Jan Richardson and am editing my first book. I believe well-told stories set our souls free as we exchange the shame of survival for the grief of powerlessness.  

EDUCATION & TRAINING

School of Spiritual Direction Level 1 & 2

New Way Ministries (2003, 2006)

Addictions Course 

Reformed Theological Seminary (2012)

The Story Workshop

The Allender Center (2012)

Leadership Evaluation and Formation Program Coach 

Cru International (2012-2013)

Women’s Sexual Abuse Recovery Workshop Level 1 & 2

The Allender Center (2013, 2016)

NARRATIVE THERAPY

REFRAMING THE SHAME OF SURVIVAL INTO STORIES OF DIGNITY & HOPE

Deep healing begins when the cost of silencing parts of ourselves becomes too high so we are ready to pursue wholeness. We must decide to exile nothing so that every choice we made to survive our stories is available to be told, reframed, and comforted so shame is dispelled. In my own journey as an childhood trauma survivor it has often felt like standing at the edge of a cliff and finding the strength to dwell there for a season. The vista on the horizon is hopeful, but the view down into the ravine of pain can be terrifying. As a therapist, facilitating community for people journeying back to their true selves is my greatest joy.

INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS:

60 minutes: $120

STORY PACKAGES:

Biweekly individual sessions + Monthly group participation= $300 per month (3 month minimum)

LEARNING GROUPS

Naming Harm. Reframing Survival. Silencing Shame. 

Online Monthly Offerings

Mother Hunger Book & Processing Groups (BEGINNING August 2024)

Monthly for 90 minutes & virtual on zoom

Open to 6 participants

Cost: $75 per session

STORY MEMBERSHIP

What is Between Touches?

Between Touches is a monthly movie-based membership program that provides ongoing, sustainable ways to engage your story. It brings together emotional themes from movies and our need to deeply see our life story in our journey towards greater freedom and healing.

What does membership include?

Each month members receive…

• Content highlighting a narrative therapy theme from a movie along with accompanying reflection questions

• Permission to share each month’s story theme with one other person in order to build your community of support, deepen your relationships and encourage others on their healing journey

• Participation in a 90-minute group call with interaction over the discussion questions with a like-minded community

• Discounted rates on other services such as individual therapy sessions and future online courses

Who will benefit from Between Touches?

Between Touches is ideal for…

• Anyone wanting to engage their past as a path to greater emotional freedom

• People doing great work in individual therapy who want to cultivate greater community to support their healing journey

• Survivors who want to continue to grow at a more sustainable cost and pace as a season of intensive therapy comes to an end

• Leaders tasked with facilitating emotionally transformative community for teams and small groups

• Therapists and service providers desiring to nourish their own souls

• Anyone across the globe where story-oriented, community-based, healing resources are scarce

SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS

Emotional Regulation (online)

Part 1: Fri June 7, 9-10:30AM MST

Part 2: Sat June 8, 9-10:30AM MST

This seminar explores the vagus nerve and its role in our experience of distress as well as our body’s responses in flight, fight, fawn and freeze. Understanding how we are seeking protection when we feel unsafe can help us notice rather than judge our dysregulation and bring care and calm to our nervous systems.

Cost: $125

Daughters of Traumatized Mothers (online)

First Sunday of every month; 5:00-6:30 PM MST

This live learning group explores the challenges adult women, raised by wounded mothers, face in their personal and relational lives. Books such as Understanding the Borderline Mother and Mother Hunger help women clarify their young experiences and their path towards greater wholeness.

Cost:

• $75 (90 min live group)

Attachment & Relationships (in person)

Fall 2024

This level 1 workshop explores the four attachment styles, the ways our style (acquired in childhood) impacts our relationships today and how to “earn” a more secure attachment as we heal.

The level 2 workshop focuses on the disorganized attachment experience, the psychological effects of childhood harm from caregivers and the path forward in feeling safer and more trusting as an adult.

Cost: $195 per level ($350 for both)

*Must attend level 1 to attend level 2