She teaches courses in human learning and development, resilience, and philosophical underpinnings of psychotherapy. She has authored or co-authored three books and about two dozen articles and book chapters on these topics. Initially raised as a Catholic in California, Amber’s family began visiting churches of many different denominations during her late childhood and adolescence. In college she discovered the Westlake Village United Methodist Church, and never looked back. Family lore holds that the original Espings were Methodists who emigrated to the U.S. from Sweden in the 1800s. No one has done the necessary research to confirm this story, but Amber definitely feels firmly rooted in the United Methodist church! She and her husband Thomas have been members of Euless First United Methodist Church since moving to Texas in 2008.