Therapist
Specialities:
Anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, substance use, and women’s/LGBTIA+ issues
Services Offered:
Individual Therapy
Ages:
Adolescents/Teens and Adults
MEET ALEX
Finding a therapist can be a vulnerable process, but it is a major step towards investing in your mental wellness. I’m so happy you’re here! You deserve to work with a mental health professional who you can feel comfortable and safe with. If any of the below resonates with you, let’s connect! I would be honored to walk alongside you on your mental health journey.
As a nomad by experience and a yinzer by choice, I’ve been working in the Pittsburgh mental health space since planting roots here in 2014, and I’ve never wanted to look back. Through counseling in hospitals, schools, and outpatient clinics I’ve gotten to reflect on what’s healing about a therapeutic connection. Working with a therapist doesn’t have to be about “fixing” yourself or pathologizing your emotions, thoughts, and behavior. I believe that all behavior is rooted in meeting our needs, and that no emotion is without its purpose. Even our difficult emotions tell us about what’s important, what’s worth protecting, and what direction we want our lives to go. While it is also true that sometimes our emotions can take us for a ride to the point that we feel like passengers in our own lives, my goal is to work with you to demystify patterns that might be keeping you stuck and empower you to get back into the driver’s seat. As a therapist, I respect that you are the expert of your own experience. Rather than being directive, our work together will be rooted in collaboration, meaning I will follow your lead in identifying what is and isn’t working in your life.
Let’s make space to honor how you got here and work together to map out where you want to go!
WHO I HELP?
I’ve had the chance to work with all age groups in my career, and I find working with adolescents and adults lights me up the most. I am also passionate about creating safe and healing spaces for members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Whether you’re a teen who wants to advocate for more freedom, a young adult catching their breath while building independence, or a parent sifting through an endless list of priorities, you can find a curious, nonjudgmental space in our work together. I offer both in-person and virtual appointments so that you can fit mental health care into your busy schedule. If you’re interested in theory, I primarily use a blend of acceptance and commitment, dialectical behavioral, and solution-focused philosophies. What that means is that our sessions together will be flexible based on what applies to your life. Rather than sticking to a rigid approach, we will spend our time building a therapeutic relationship that is focused on supporting you. If this sounds like what you’ve been looking for, I would love to hear more about your experience and goals.
WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT?
Our needs change from day to day, and our work in therapy should reflect that! Depending on what you need, our sessions might look like:
Grappling with the fact that you are allowed to have needs and take up space in your relationships, and learning to communicate those needs with compassion and confidence
Coloring mandalas while we decompress after a tough week of finals
Practicing mindfulness skills to look at our thoughts and feelings rather than through them
Noticing what comes up in our bodies when talking about painful experiences and learning to make space and incorporate those sensations
Discussing the shows, books, and video games in our lives and uncovering what the media we consume says about our broader values and the life we want to live
Brainstorming harm reduction strategies that can help you move step-by-step towards a well balanced life
Holding space for yelling, crying, and feeling overwhelmed without the pressure to add or do anything but honor what’s showing up right now
Talking about how YOUR grief might look and feel different than the grief of anyone else you’ve seen (and that’s okay!)
In our first few sessions, we’ll get to know each other and start to identify some goals for our work together. As we spend more time together, you will grow and change so we’ll be sure to spend time checking in to make sure our approach feels like it’s supporting you.
When I am not at AMW then you will find me?
Playing indie RPGs, tending an indoor garden, making a mess in the kitchen, or seeing film re-releases with my husband!