Amy Wood, Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist and certified executive coach with in-depth knowledge of human nature and a gift for helping adults become their versions of successful. From the trenches to the board room, her clients have ranged from psychiatric patients and incarcerated criminals to corporate executives and high-powered attorneys. Dr. Wood knows how people handle obstacles and how they change.
No matter how complex the challenge, Dr. Wood has helped someone through it. She employs the empowering perspective that every person, regardless of circumstances, is a unique and valuable individual with the inner resources necessary to articulate and accomplish their goals.
Dr. Wood is the award-winning author of Life Your Way: Refresh Your Approach to Success and Breathe Easier in a Fast-paced World and is frequently featured in media. She created a research-based wellness system for attorneys called Law and the Good Life and teaches professional development courses at the University of New Hampshire.
Professional Style
Dr. Wood is highly skilled at drawing out the best in people. As a human psychology expert, she is aware that past experiences shape people. However, she believes we can accomplish more by putting energy into moving forward rather than endlessly processing.
Dr. Wood is straightforward and conversational in her approach, often using humor in her work. She is particularly skilled at helping people envision clear futures for themselves and cut through the clutter to find the best route to peace of mind. Her focus is always on the positive, and she encourages acceptance of the repeated falling down and getting back up that is usually part of lasting change. Clients describe her as easy to talk with, able to simplify complicated concepts, a person who “tells it like it is.”
Background and Education
Dr. Wood graduated from Loyola University in New Orleans with a Communications degree, then enjoyed an invigorating publishing career in Chicago. Fascinated by corporate dynamics and human behavior, she enrolled in Chicago’s Adler University to become a psychologist. She completed her clinical internship at the University of Maine counseling center and launched her Portland private practice in 2001.
Dr. Wood consistently works at enhancing her skills and challenging her perspective through such professional development opportunities as certification by the College of Executive Coaching in California and the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council. She contributes to her community and profession in myriad ways and is a founding member of the Maine Collaborative Law Alliance.
Life Philosophy and
Personal Interests
A firm believer that she must practice what she preaches, Dr. Wood strives to keep her life balanced, her personal relationships thriving, and her mind open. She is an avid reader and theater-goer and enjoys being active in nature whenever possible. She loves visiting faraway friends in her favorite cities and lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband and rescue dog.