About Amy Zacaroli, MABC

Amy is pursuing a mid-life career as a licensed professional counselor to realize an enduring dream of helping hurting children and families heal from trauma or loss and transform into whole and joyful living. Amy earned her Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling from Dallas Theological Seminary in May 2022. She is pursuing her registration in play therapy under the supervision of Tanya Hull, LPC, RPT-S, incorporating approaches from synergetic, child-centered and trauma-informed play therapy. 

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Amy has lived in Northern Virginia all her life, though she loves to travel. After graduating from James Madison University, she enjoyed a 12-year career in journalism, writing about federal environmental policy in Washington, D.C. It was there that she met her future husband Alec, who also was a journalist at the time. After Alec and Amy married and had the second of their four children, Amy retired from journalism to raise their kids. She volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, giving voice to abused and neglected children in the Fairfax County court system. In 2003, she and Alec founded 25:40, a non-profit ministry dedicated to helping orphans and vulnerable children in rural South Africa survive the devastating impacts of poverty, violence and disease. Now in its 20th year, 25:40 has expanded its reach up and down South Africa’s Eastern Cape province and ministers to and disciples children, adolescents and young adults, as well as helps the communities in which they live access government services. 25:40 marries Amy’s passion for vulnerable children with Alec’s passion for the country in which he spent his formative years.

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After 15 years of staying home, Amy re-entered the workforce in 2014 as an assistant in women’s ministry at Burke Community Church. She began her seminary studies in 2016. In 2017, she became a campus advisor at Dallas Theological Seminary’s D.C. campus, where she worked until 2020. She started seeing her counseling clients in January 2021 at Seek Serenity in Sterling, VA and later that year joined The Counseling Center at Burke Community Church, where she still sees a wide variety of clients part-time. Amy is thrilled to join Keystone Services, also part time, where she will focus on clients who are children. Amy’s interests include helping children deal with grief, trauma, divorce, adoption, identity and self-esteem issues as well as emotional regulation, anxiety disorders and depression.

In her spare time, Amy loves to walk and bike, hike with her family and friends, spend time in the mountains and the beach, read good books and eat great food.