About

Values

At Inner Path Counseling & Wellness, we value the whole person who we work with. We understand that each person's path is unique, not only how you got here, but where you might want to go. We work to help people show up with their truest, most whole selves in their lives.

Vision

After working at a variety of community clinics and hospitals, I observed what worked with clients and what felt lacking. I wanted to create a space that felt authentic, that encouraged people to feel free to be themselves without pretense, and experience being accepted in their own skin. I also noticed in my own life that my mental health benefitted from integrating a holistic wellness approach-sometimes I wanted to talk, sometimes I needed to move my body, sometimes I needed to visualize what I was processing outside of my headspace. It is from my own personal integration of evidence-based approaches to counseling that I experienced a desire to create a space that honored all the different ways to empower people to create their own wellbeing.

History

Inner Path Counseling & Wellness has been serving the Austin area since 2023. Founded by Amber Laird Bárcenas, Inner Path Counseling & Wellness provides superior wellness and counseling services to Texans.

Mission

Inner Path Counseling & Wellness was borne from the integration of many modalities of counseling and wellness, including talk therapy, sandplay, breathing exercises, expressive arts, dreamwork, and many more. What that means is that I like to have many different ways to help you explore yourself, and I like to find what works for you. I am here to support your vision and unlock your inner shine!

Call or email to book an appointment today.

A little about Amber Laird...

Licensed Professional Counselor

Registered Play Therapist

My journey into the counseling profession began when I lost my grandmother as a young child. I struggled with the loss, and through that, found an amazing counselor who was able to connect with me and understand my pain. Due to my childhood experience of the power of counseling, I now love working with people of all ages. As a young adult, I experienced my own divorce and recognized that I needed someone to talk to—and again sought counseling. Based on the healing and connections I experienced, I decided I wanted to walk alongside others as they navigate through their own journeys in life.

I now live with my loving husband in a relationship in which we both work to understand and support each other. I like to do yoga, meditate, journal, and garden. I enjoy baking more than cooking (but I find I do a lot more cooking than baking). I love to read and spend time outdoors—a walk to the lake is another thing I really enjoy.

I look forward to meeting you and getting to know you. I hope to accompany you along your path as you find your way.

See My Services

My work with clients...

I believe that we all come into this world needing and deserving to belong and be unconditionally accepted. When we are deeply accepted and understood for who we are, we are able to find our unique paths and develop into our truest selves. Often in life, we don’t receive exactly the acceptance or belonging we need, and our abilities to trust ourselves and recognize our own worth become difficult to connect with. When we don’t trust ourselves or believe in ourselves, it’s very difficult to follow our hearts and live authentic lives with meaningful, fulfilling relationships.

Through the relationships I create with my clients, I seek to understand them and appreciate them for who they are—to see the person inside who has been impacted by all the ways that they have struggled to trust their own inner guidance along their journey. I provide space for the true person to emerge through our relationship—a relationship full of acceptance, authenticity, and empathy. As we build trust, my clients can explore themselves, find their inner guidance, and practice listening to it.

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Registered Play Therapist (RPT). I earned my PhD in counseling from the University of North Texas in 2021. In addition to my work with clients, I have taught graduate level counseling classes at the University of North Texas and am currently working on the first level of my yoga teacher training. I enjoy working with diverse clients of all ages as well as students who are interested in becoming counselors. My training has prepared me to work across the lifespan with clients to promote wellness and healing.

“Am I living in a way which is deeply satisfying to me, and which truly expresses me?”

- Carl Rogers

“The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction not a destination.”

- Carl Rogers

“A person is a fluid process, not a fixed and static entity; a flowing river of change, not a block of solid material; a continually changing constellation of potentialities, not a fixed quantity of traits.” - Carl Rogers

“What I am is good enough if I would only be it openly.”

- Carl Rogers

“What is most personal is most universal.”

- Carl Rogers

“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.”

- Carl Rogers

Reach out to me today!

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