Dr. Amanda Rhodes, PsyD

Director & Licensed Psychologist

Not Currently Accepting New Clients

Insurance: Out-of-Network

Location: In-Person & Virtual

How I Work: I am a licensed clinical health psychologist in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. I specialize in adolescents through adults experiencing chronic and acute illness/pain as well as caregivers/partners of loved ones with medical conditions. I have been practicing mindfulness and related practices my entire life and have applied acceptance- and mindfulness-based approaches clinically for the past nine years in a variety of settings including schools, outpatient, partial & inpatient hospitalizations, university counseling centers, and academic medical centers. My therapeutic approach mixes ancient eastern practices with modern day, empirically-validated contextual-behavioral treatments (acceptance and commitment therapy, compassion-focused therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction). In therapy, I use a person-centered, collaborative approach to explore meaningfulness and vitality. And, through courage and compassion, we work ACTively with the barriers and immense challenges that get in the way of living the life you want. Most importantly, I use humor and playfulness to break the hold our thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations have on our experience. I can be reached directly at admin@bccpsych.com.

About Me: I spent my early career as a research psychologist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) / National Cancer Institute (NCI). As faculty at NIH, my team received $500K in funding on various protocols to study the longitudinal effects of disease and treatment in folks with cancer, cancer pre-disposition syndromes, and other chronic health conditions (pain, insomnia, etc.). I continue to have a secondary appointment as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychology at George Washington University (GWU) and be connected with my NIH lab as research psychologist - special volunteer status. I currently serve on the Board of Directors for several international scientific organizations including President for both the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS) Mid-Atlantic Chapter and ACBS Cancer Special Interest Group. I also currently serve on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science (JCBS). In addition to my clinical work, I am Founder of a Washington, DC-based consulting firm - where I (and my awesome team) train practitioners in ACT and advise on international scientific research protocols. In my free time, I climb some of the world’s tallest mountains.

Education & Training

Post-Doctoral Fellowship: National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute

Doctor of Psychology (Clinical & School): Kean University

Master of Arts (Psychology): Kean University

Bachelor of Arts (Psychology): Lehigh University

Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications

Gallanis, A., Gamble, L., Samaranayake, S., Lopez, R., Rhodes, A., Rajasimhan, S., Fasaye, G., Abdulsalam, O., Connolly, M., Joyce, S., Berger, A., Heller, T., Blakely, A., Hernandez, J., & Davis, J. (2023). Costs of Cancer Prevention: Physical and Psychosocial Sequelae of Risk-reducing Total Gastrectomy. Journal of Clinical Oncology, doi: 10.1200/JCO.23.01238

Rhodes, A., Martin, S., Toledo-Tamula, M.A., Loucas, C., Glod, J., Warren, K. E., & Wolters, P. (2022). The Neuropsychological Profile of Children with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) Before and After Radiation Therapy: A Prospective Longitudinal Study. Child Neuropsychology, 11, 1-25, doi: 10.1080/09297049.2022.2144189

Loucas, C., Wolters, P., Toledo-Tamula, M.A., Rhodes, A., Baldwin, A., Goodwin, A., Widemann, B., & Martin, S. (2022). Verbal Learning and Memory in Youth with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 and Plexiform Neurofibromas: Relationships with Disease Severity. European Journal of Paediatric Neurology, 38, 7-12. doi:10.1016/j.ejpn.2022.03.004

Rhodes, A., Marks, D., Block-Lerner, J., & Lomauro, T. (2021). Psychological Flexibility, Pain Characteristics and Risk of Opioid Misuse in Noncancerous Chronic Pain Patients. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 28, 405-417. doi:10.1007/s10880-020-09729-1

Rhodes, A., Martin, S., Guarna, J., Vowles, K., & Allen, T. (2020). A contextual-behavioral perspective on chronic pain during the COVID-19 pandemic and future times of mandated physical distancing. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 17, 152-158. doi:10.1016/j.jcbs.2020.07.009

Rhodes, A., Martin, S., Wolters, P., Rodriguez, Y., Toledo-Tamula, M. A., Struemph, K., Fitzhugh, C., Hsieh, M., Tisdale, J. (2020). Sleep disturbance in adults with sickle cell disease: relationships with executive and psychological functioning. Annals of Hematology, 99, 2057-2064. doi:10.1007/s00277-020-04058-7