Why I do what I do – Amy Hammer, DBT Therapist

Growing up as a young girl in the ’70s, I had friends who were experiencing trauma at home. I didn’t know how to help them then, except to listen and offer hugs. Some of my friends in high school were suicidal. I came out as gay in 1986 at 16 years old, to my high school, in a letter to the school paper. I experienced bullying and suicidal ideation myself. I took a psychology class in high school, and from that point onward I knew I wanted to help people who were struggling with mental health.

When I went to college, I volunteered at the local domestic violence shelter. I volunteered at Headquarters, and learned a lot about talking to people who were considering suicide. In my first job in mental health, as an after-hours case manager at Bert Nash in 1996, I was able to work with people struggling with intense symptoms of schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses, get to know them as people, understand how their symptoms impacted their lives and how I could help.

I also started learning about Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in the years that followed, studying with colleagues in the early 2000s, and I’ve been a DBT therapist for almost 20 years now. In the past 5 years I’ve focused a lot on learning more about transgender individuals and how to help them. I love DBT because it’s a compassionate, respectful treatment for people who have suffered as my friends have suffered: from traumatic, invalidating experiences and environments in their lives. I love DBT because it’s been shown in many studies over the past 20 years to be really helpful for people who are struggling with intense emotions, suicidal ideation, and self-harm. As I’ve been a therapist for the past 20 years, I’ve watched countless people get much better, stop wanting to die, and build lives worth living. Just last week, I got a call from my very first DBT client, just to check in, to let me know that that person is ok and has a life that feels worth living to them — and my heart overflowed. 

Please stay safe and observe social distancing. And be aware that if you’re struggling with suicidal ideation, or self-harm, or intense emotions that feel like they’re going to ruin your life, there is an effective treatment available. It isn’t easy, and it isn’t fast, but if you work hard and throw yourself into it, you can build a life that is worth living to you.