Meet Aly (Alyssa) she/her/hers

Staff Psychotherapist and Practice Director

LICSW, BCN, RYT-500

Collaboration, curiosity, and a mindful pace help us explore automatic patterns, current and past stressors that are getting in the way of healing, growth, and self-realization. I have a warm relational approach that helps us co-create our work together. Trained as a social worker I tend to look to understand how our environment impacts overall well being and have found it helpful to balance inner healing with finding macro and systems level changes and understanding around our personal patterns and health. I believe politics, access to health care, food, affordable housing and systems in our communities directly impact mental health. I have experience supporting clients across the life span, from different backgrounds and currently primarily work with adults. My training and experience have helped me integrate use of many trauma informed and body based modalities including EMDR, SMART, ARC, Components Based Psychotherapy, healing attachment trauma, parts work based on structural dissociation, relational therapy, systems based therapy, and I am board certified in neurofeedback through BCIA. Additionally, I teach and practice yoga and mindfulness as a somatic practice and method of finding more harmony in life. I am also trained in more traditional models like DBT, motivational interviewing, harm reduction, and CBT but find some of these models are not the best fit for clients working with complex trauma so I tend to lean more on somatic, nervous system informed and brain based models. As a queer therapist I appreciate accompanying all clients through identity development tending to our most authentic selves. While I primarily offer individual therapy I also find that developing and connecting with community is often an important part of wellness.

I have had the opportunity to transform the experience of my inner world through methods like psychotherapy and practices of yoga. and embodiment. In turn, this changed my experience of the outer world. In my work as a therapist, I combine these methods that have led me and many others to more integration and fulfillment in life.

Interests: Skiing, barefoot hikes, playing guitar and baking

Qualifications:

Aly is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, Board Certified in Neurofeedback and a Registered Yoga Teacher.

Psychotherapy & Neurofeedback: Aly holds a Master of Social Work degree from Columbia University and undergraduate degrees from the University of St. Joseph in Social Work and Spanish. A life-time learner, Aly continued to specialize post-graduate school with fellowships and advanced training including a two year post graduate Social Work Fellowship at The Trauma Center under Bessel van der Kolk, obtained a certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies at the Trauma Center. After becoming board certified in Neurofeedback she engaged in mentoring with Sebern Fisher, LICSW, BCN and EEG learn. Aly continues to get consultation and supervision from leaders in the fields in which she practices as she values collaboration in helping clients heal.

Yoga: 200hr Yoga Teacher Training through Fluid Yoga School in 2019 300hr Yoga Teacher Training in 2024. HEALing Yoga level 1&2 through Padme Physical Therapy Aerial Yoga with RamaLuna Yoga in Connecticut

Research and Publications

Research assistant for the Child neurofeedback study at The Trauma Center at JRI 2016-2017 and clinical interviewer for ARC-RCT Study at The Trauma Center at JRI 2017-2018 -Part of team publishing the journal

Traumatic events and HIV sexual risk behaviors among migrant and non-migrant male market workers in Central Asia. AIDS & Behavior. Michalopoulos, L.M., Jiwatram-Negron, T., Gilbert, L., Shaw, S.A., Brelsford (Gorel), A., Terlikbayeva, A., Primbetova, S., El-Bassel, N.