Alex Persons (he/him/his), M.S.Ed.
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Treatment Philosophy
As an openly gay man, I am an open-minded, nonjudgmental, and compassion-focused provider who meets each client where they are at. I believe in empowering the client at both the individual and systemic levels, especially via separation from the system and oppressive internalized narratives.
In therapy, I aim to strike the balance between solutions-focused counseling and emotional processing work. I work from the lens of Dialectical Behavior Therapy, an evidence-based treatment modality designed to develop several different skillsets in order to decrease emotional suffering.
I conceptualize problems as arising from a variety of challenges that conflagrate into a perfect storm. Yet, as with any storm, there is always a period of calm that comes; that's where I come in. I believe counseling is a collaborative process of problem-solving and processing. I believe that although I may be a content expert in psychology, the client is the expert of their own lives and together, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I will meet you where you are at and, together, we will figure things out.
Clinical and Academic Background
I have nearly 10 years of higher education experience under my belt. I graduated from The University of Georgia in 2019 with my bachelor's in Psychology and from Indiana University in 2022 with my master's in Mental Health Counseling, where I worked at the Kinsey Institute on the Rape Prevention and Education Team. After my master's, I spent over 3 and a half years in a Ph.D. program in Counseling Psychology. During my tenure in graduate school, I accumulated a wealth of theoretical and academic knowledge, research experience, and clinical training that molded me into a well-rounded clinician.
I have worked in a variety of training clinics and have experience working in private practice, community mental health clinics, and university counseling centers. I have worked with children, teens, adolescents, and adults providing both psychotherapy and comprehensive psychoeducational assessments. Each of my clients is as unique as the next, and every day I am moved by their courage and determination.