SOUTH HILLS, PA · TELEHEALTH STATEWIDE

Amber Kottner, MA, LPC

  • Licensed Professional Counselor
  • MA · Waynesburg University
  • Licensed Since 2013
  • Accepting New Clients

“I believe in building a strong sense of trust and working together to tailor a plan for your specific needs.”

Amber Kottner is a Licensed Professional Counselor at CPA Counseling’s South Hills office, also seeing clients by secure telehealth across Pennsylvania. Licensed since 2013, she works with adults, young adults, and teens on anxiety, depression, family difficulty, grief and loss, caregiver strain, school and workplace stress, and self-esteem. She also sees older children.

Amber in Office Setting
No program commitments
UPMC · BCBS · United Healthcare · Cigna
Teens, young adults & adults
Telehealth available statewide
Licensed since 2013

WHO AMBER WORKS WITH

Who she’s for

Amber works with adults, young adults, and teens, individually. She also sees older children, generally twelve and up. Thirteen years in private practice across that range.

1

Adults who want it to be a partnership.

Her own framing: therapy is a special partnership. You set the direction and she brings the clinical skill, which suits people who have been talked at before and found it unhelpful.

2

Adults carrying something quietly.

Anxiety that has become the background hum. Low mood that outlasted its cause. A loss, a transition, or the slow grind of caring for someone else while nobody asks how you are.

3

Families working through it.

Because she works across teens and adults, a household dealing with one situation can often be supported in one place rather than coordinating across two or three practices — which matters more than it sounds when everyone is already stretched.

why work with Amber

Trust first, then the plan

Amber is explicit about the order: build a strong sense of trust, then work together to tailor a plan for your specific needs. Not a warm-up before the real work — she treats the relationship as the thing that makes the rest possible.

What brings people in

Anxious, depressed, or just going through a difficult stretch — which is how she puts it herself. A loss that has not settled. Caring for someone else until there is nothing left over. Work or school that has stopped being manageable. You do not need a diagnosis to come in.

How she actually works

Warm, open, supportive — and eclectic by design. Amber draws on cognitive-behavioral techniques, person-centered therapy, and solution-focused strategies, tailoring the method to the person rather than running everyone through the same sequence.

What gets different

Amber describes therapy as a partnership and the goal as meaningful change rather than symptom management. In practice that looks like coping that holds outside the room, a clearer read on what is actually happening, and the sense that you are not managing it alone.

HOW AMBER WORKS

Three approaches, used well

A deliberately focused toolkit. Amber describes her approach as eclectic, meaning she selects and blends rather than running a protocol — and thirteen years has taught her which of the three suits which person.

  • CBT
  • Person-Centered
  • Solution-Focused

1

When the thinking is the problem

Cognitive-behavioral work on the patterns driving anxiety and low mood — catching them as they run, testing whether they hold, and building something usable on a hard morning when she is not in the room.

2

When you need to be heard first

Person-centered work, which is where Amber starts with most people and stays with some. You set the direction; she is not quietly steering toward a conclusion she has already reached. Particularly important with teenagers, who can tell.

3

When you know the goal and not the route

Solution-focused work for clients who can name what they want different but keep not getting there. Clarifying the actual goal, then building steps small enough to take — which is usually where things have been stalling.

CONDITIONS TREATED

What Amber treats – who Amber sees

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Family Issues
  • Life Transitions
  • Grief & Loss
  • Women’s Mental Health
  • Caregiver Stress
  • School / Academic
  • Workplace Stress
  • Self-Esteem
  • Adults
  • Teens & Adolescents
  • Young Adults
  • Older Children
  • Individuals
  • Women
  • Men

For focused work

Thirteen years — and a focused approach

Licensed since 2013, Amber has spent her whole career in private practice. Her toolkit is deliberately narrow — CBT, person-centered and solution-focused — selected and blended rather than run as a protocol.

“I view therapy as a special partnership.”

CARE PHILOSOPHY

A partnership. Tailored, not standard.

Amber aims to bring a warm, open, and supportive presence to the room. Whether you are feeling anxious, depressed, or just going through a difficult time, her stated intention is to be a safe place to find support and help — which is a more modest and more honest promise than most.

The approach is eclectic, drawing from cognitive-behavioral techniques, person-centered therapy, and solution-focused strategies. She believes in tailoring the method to fit the person, which makes therapy personalized and genuinely collaborative rather than something administered to you.

She describes therapy as a special partnership, and the goal as meaningful change. Whether you are working through a specific challenge or looking for general support, the plan gets built with you — after the trust is there, not before.

ABOUT AMBER

A safe place to find support and help

Amber Kottner is a Licensed Professional Counselor who has been fully licensed since 2013, supporting teens, adults, and families. She strives to bring a warm, open, and supportive presence to the therapeutic space.

Whether you are feeling anxious, depressed, or just going through a difficult time, she looks forward to being a safe place for you to find support and help. Thirteen years in private practice sits behind that, across teens, young adults and adults.

She takes an eclectic approach to therapy, drawing from cognitive-behavioral techniques, person-centered therapy, and solution-focused strategies. She believes in tailoring methods to fit the unique needs of each individual, making therapy a personalized and collaborative experience.

With a strong commitment to helping others grow, Amber views therapy as a special partnership. Whether you are working through a specific challenge or looking for general support, she is there to guide and empower you toward meaningful change. She holds an MA in Counseling from Waynesburg University and sees clients at the South Hills office and by telehealth across Pennsylvania.

CREDENTIALS & TRAINING

DEGREE

MA · Counseling

Waynesburg University

CERTIFICATIONS

LPC · Licensed Professional Counselor

ALSO TRAINED

Eclectic · CBT, Person-Centered and Solution-Focused

FOCUS

Adults · Anxiety & Depression · Grief & Loss

IN PRACTICE

Since 2013 · 13 years

South Hills · Telehealth

SERVES

South Hills

via Telehealth – Pennsylvania

2013

Licensed Since

13 years in private practice

✦

South Hills & Telehealth

In person or statewide online

∞

Personalized Care Plans

No program commitments required

CONDITION GUIDE

Therapy guides from Amber

  • LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapy

    LGBTQ+

    What Is LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapy?

    LGBTQ+ affirming therapy does not treat being LGBTQ+ as a problem to fix. It means a therapist who is competent, trustworthy, and affirming, so you can bring your whole life into the room — whether you’re there for anxiety, depression, relationships, grief, or anything else. Affirming therapy never includes conversion or "change" efforts, which are harmful. The goal is a life where you don’t have to become less of yourself to belong.

  • Living Vicariously Through Your Child?

    Family

    Your Dreams on Hold: Are You Living Vicariously Through Your Child?

    Living vicariously through your child means pinning your own unmet dreams or self-worth on their performance. It usually comes from love, but it can raise a child's anxiety and reverse healthy roles. Tess Inman, LPC helps parents and families across Altoona recognize these patterns and build healthier connection — in person or by telehealth across Pennsylvania.

  • Can AI Replace a Therapist

    Technology Addiction

    AI Therapy vs. a Human Therapist: The Real Difference

    AI chatbots can offer information, available any hour, and a place to put your thoughts — and for some people they’re a helpful first step. But they are not a substitute for human therapy. Real, lasting change happens through a genuine relationship: being truly seen and attuned to, working through difficulty with another person, and a trust an AI cannot form. For anything serious — trauma, depression, crisis — a licensed human therapist is essential. David Como, NCC, has practiced for more than 30 years in the Pittsburgh area.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Questions about working with Amber Kottner

What new clients ask most often before their first session.

Amber is a Licensed Professional Counselor licensed since 2013. She works with adults, young adults, teens and older children on anxiety, depression, family difficulty, life transitions, grief and loss, women’s mental health, caregiver strain, school and workplace stress, and self-esteem, drawing on CBT, person-centered, and solution-focused approaches.

Yes. Amber works with teens and young adults alongside adults, and sees children from age six, though twelve and up is where she prefers to work. Sessions with a younger client look different — less sitting and talking, and more involvement from parents. Because she also sees adults, a family can often be supported from one place rather than across several practices.

It means she is not running one method on everyone. Amber draws on three approaches — cognitive-behavioral, person-centered, and solution-focused — and selects based on who is in front of her and what they need. A focused toolkit used well, rather than a long list used thinly.

Yes. Amber is accepting new clients at the South Hills office and through telehealth across Pennsylvania. She is in network with UPMC, Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare, and Cigna. Request an appointment online or call 412-439-1416.