Alysse completed her Bachelors in Psychology and Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh in 2015. After working in psychiatric research, Alysse went on to obtain a Masters in Social Work and a Masters in Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh, graduating with both degrees in the Spring of 2020. Alysse has interned, volunteered, and worked in a number of mental health related settings over the past decade.
Alysse has worked with patients who have a range of diagnoses, including anxiety, depression, insomnia, seasonal affective disorder, borderline personality disorder, ADHD, bipolar, and schizophrenia. Alysse has helped clients cope with a range of life experiences as well including processing grief, coping with domestic violence and trauma, creating healthier relationships, and developing healthy habits including improved sleep and physical activity. Alysse has a specialization in treating trauma.
Alysse is experienced in working with clients with Autism or ADHD, clients who have minority sexual or gender identities, clients with diverse relationship structures, and clients in other minority groups. She will always strive to ensure her work is supportive and empowering. With a background in social work, Alysse is aware of how larger systems, like work, school, and culture, affect daily life.
Alysse is trained in a range of therapeutic techniques including mindfulness and relaxation training, Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), CBT for Insomnia, CBT for Seasonal Affective Disorder, Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD, Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD, and Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy for OCD. Alysse always works collaboratively with the client to determine the best course of treatment. She strives to make a safe, non-judgmental, and compassionate space where clients can learn more about themselves, their experiences, and grow.
In addition to therapy, Alysse also consults as a program evaluator for small businesses and non-profits. She has over a decade of research and evaluation experience and has a Certification in Health Program Evaluation. Alysse utilizes her experience in research to inform her work as a clinician by reviewing literature relevant to client experiences and offering evidence supported treatments when possible.
When Alysse is not working, she enjoys fixing up her house, spending time with her friends and family, playing board games, getting outside, or spending time with her cats.
We are honored to have the opportunity to interview Alysse for SITI Girl Pittsburgh. Let’s dive deeper into her insights in our exclusive Q&A interview.
Common Mental Health Issues
- What are some of the most common mental health issues you encounter in your practice? How can someone recognize if they or a loved one might be experiencing a mental health issue?
Anxiety, depression, and life adjustment issues tend to be the most common issues that pop up for many therapists. Life adjustment issues mean dealing with things like having a baby, loss, divorce, moving, career shifts or other life changes. Like other therapists, I see a lot of these issues in my patients. In addition to these issues, I specialize in treating trauma, treating neurodiverse patients, such as those with ADHD or Autism, and patients who are LGBTQ+.
When someone is struggling with something, sometimes it’s obvious. They may have a noticeable shift in their moods and behaviors. Any time someone is “not acting like themself” for a period of time (e.g. more irritable or anxious or down or withdrawing from people or struggling to care for themselves) that may be an indicator that they are having a hard time.
However, many people internalize their experience, meaning that they might be suffering without showing any signs or changes outwardly. They might be doing well at “keeping up appearances” so to speak and continuing to care for their family or perform at work or take care of their home, but it is taking more and more effort to keep up the same level of functioning.
While things look and feel different for everyone, not feeling or acting like yourself for a period of time, or just not feeling satisfied or connected to others or feeling chronically stressed, are all signs that it may be time to get help. Getting a therapist or talking to your doctor or a loved one can be a good first step in getting help. If the idea of getting help is overwhelming, it can be good to ask someone else to help you navigate the process of getting care. If you are worried about a loved one, the best thing you can do is talk to them. Let them know what you’re noticing and see if there is a way you can support them.
If at any point, you or someone you care about might be in danger, it’s important to go to the nearest hospital emergency room, call 911, or utilize other resources like your local mental health crisis support team or national resources like the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (988).
Impact of Modern Life on Mental Health
- In your experience, how has the rise of social media and digital communication affected mental health, especially among young people? What are some ways individuals can manage the stress and anxiety that come with the demands of modern life?
In my experience, the biggest large scale impacts on mental health right now are social and economic forces. I am seeing a lot of people living paycheck to paycheck or struggling with debt while the cost of basic needs is on the rise. I have also seen folks feeling less safe because of political or social discourse on the news or in social media. Part of why these issues are so hard to cope with is due to their scale. As a therapist, I can’t solve poverty or hate, but I still do my best to help clients find ways to feel as safe as they can, cope with what they cannot change, and create a life that’s in line with their values, given the barriers we all face.
The other larger social issue seems to be loneliness and disconnection. Social media plus the pandemic seemed to have created a lot of social distance and, for many, it is feeling impossible to close that gap and reconnect. At the same time, social media has also allowed people to connect and share in ways they never would have. I have seen a lot of content on YouTube and tiktok and other forums where people share their struggles with mental health issues as well as ways they cope. I think this helps people know they aren’t alone, find ways to talk about their experience, and find some really great tools to cope with life’s challenges.
Ultimately, modern life is complex and has pros and cons. Finding ways to prioritize effective self care, meaningful or enjoyable activities, and connection with others amidst the stressful hustle of daily life can be critical in managing overwhelm and enjoying life.
Stigma and Awareness
- Despite growing awareness, there is still a stigma surrounding mental health. What can be done to reduce this stigma? How can we encourage people, especially those hesitant about seeking help, to prioritize their mental health?
Stigma in mental health is getting better, but it seems to be something that gets better in a disjointed way. It is much less stigmatized to go to therapy or to have anxiety or depression or ADHD than in the past, but other diagnoses like Borderline Personality Disorder still have a bad reputation and a lot of misinformation surrounding them. One of the best ways to combat stigma is to talk about your mental health experiences, and create non-judgmental spaces for others to do the same. It’s important to recognize that we all have biases, so we need to be open minded when talking about mental health struggles and how to live with or overcome them.
Prioritizing mental health can also be challenging, because, for many of us, that means taking a step into the unknown. It can mean changes that are uncomfortable and vulnerable, like asking for help, trusting others, and sharing things we are embarrassed or ashamed of. One of the best ways to help people overcome these fears is through example. Modeling bravery by being open about your own struggles or setbacks can help others know that it is ok not to be perfect and it’s ok to seek support.
Coping Mechanisms and Strategies
- What are some effective coping mechanisms for dealing with stress, anxiety, and depression? Can you suggest any daily practices or habits that can help maintain good mental health?
When it comes to coping, different things work for different people and for different emotional states.
When it comes to stress, something I recommend is finding relaxation strategies that work in moments of higher stress. I often recommend deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or mindfulness to clients. These are techniques that, with practice, can be discreetly used in a moment of higher stress, or can be used as daily techniques to help reduce our baseline stress. After you are feeling calmer, it’s important to take a look at the stressor and see if some problem solving can help reduce what is causing the stress in the first place.
For depression, one of the first lines of defense is something called behavioral activation. Just like certain experiences can trigger us to feel angry, or sad, or stressed, other experiences can also trigger us to feel calm, engaged or happy. Behavioral activation means doing certain activities on purpose that help trigger those more enjoyable emotions. Often when people are feeling depressed, they become less motivated and interested in things that they used to enjoy, so forcing yourself to do some of those things, even if you don’t feel like it, can be a good tool for helping combat depression. Everyone enjoys different activities, but some ideas for this might be spending time in nature, meeting up with friends, or upping self care activities (e.g. taking a long bath or getting hair or nails done).
There are nuances to all these recommendations however. For example, something that looks like depression might actually be grief or burnout and I’d recommend different strategies for those.
One of the things that can make managing mental health challenging is that there are a lot of different underlying issues that can look similar on the surface. Seeing a therapist can be a good way to help identify what underlying issues might be going on and get more personalized coping skills and care.
For good mental health, it’s important to try and resolve any crises or major stressors in your life if that’s possible. It’s also good to get help for more significant challenges even if they are not at a crisis level. Beyond this, taking care of your physical needs such as drinking enough water, getting adequate nutrition, and getting enough movement can help bolster mental health. Spending time with loved ones and with activities that are meaningful or enjoyable can also bolster mental health. For specific issues, it’s helpful to find recommendations from those who have dealt with that struggle before or from trained professionals.
Therapy and Treatment
- For someone considering therapy, what advice would you give them on finding the right therapist? What are some common misconceptions about therapy that you would like to address?
Most therapists are able to treat anxiety or depression or life adjustment issues. For other issues, it’s helpful to try and find a therapist with some expertise in the issue you are facing. This is often listed in their bios or on platforms like Psychology Today.
Even if you find a therapist who is trained or experienced with what you’re facing, you still might not have the best personality fit with them. This is something that for therapy especially, is important to help you get the most you can out of it. Sometimes it takes a few sessions to figure out if the fit is there or not and that’s ok. Pay attention to if you feel respected and heard by your therapist and comfortable telling them what’s on your mind. It can take a little time to develop a good therapeutic relationship even if you do have a good fit, so it’s important to give your therapist feedback if something isn’t working for you. It might seem like it from time to time, but therapists are not mind readers, so we need your help to figure out how to best support your goals.
There’s a lot of misconceptions about therapy out there, but the main one I’d like to address is thinking that things aren’t bad enough to warrant therapy or that you have to be ready to work through your deepest darkest issues the first time you meet with a therapist. If you are having a hard time, it’s ok to get help even if you know somebody out there has it worse. Your therapist is also trained to meet you where you’re at. That means that, if you are not ready to dive into the deepest, most sensitive issues, your therapist can work with you on other challenges you may have and work with you on what barriers might exist that are blocking that deeper work. Your therapist will go at the pace that’s right for you and should never force you to do anything you aren’t ready for.
Mental Health in Specific Populations
- Are there any particular mental health challenges faced by specific populations (e.g., teenagers, the elderly, LGBTQ+ community)? How can mental health support be tailored to meet the unique needs of these groups?
Every population has specific challenges they face. For example, those in the LGBTQ+ population often have to wrestle with the balance between being their authentic fulfilled self in the face of others who may not accept their identities or even try to harm them. Women often have to face the social pressure of balancing roles that are impossible to balance, like maintaining a clean house while working full time and parenting young children. Many people with PTSD also have OCD and many people with ADHD often struggle with social anxiety. All people have multiple identities that all come with their unique challenges and these can pile on each other.
As a social worker, I am trained to help consider the specific issues that come with identifying our place in a complex social world, but I also recognize that even with training, I cannot possibly know or anticipate all the issues someone may be facing. The best expert on your experience will always be you. Ultimately, this type of humility is important for all types of healthcare providers who need to take their patients’ concerns and perspectives seriously and consider how those concerns fit into a larger social and economic system that the patient is part of. At the same time, it is helpful for providers who specialize in treating certain populations or see patients from specific groups to educate themselves on issues that tend to impact those groups.
Current Trends and Developments
- Are there any recent developments or trends in mental health treatment that you find particularly promising? How do you see the field of psychotherapy evolving in the next few years?
Mental healthcare is as subject to trends as anything else. There are often at least a couple of therapies or even therapeutic devices or techniques that become very popular for a few years and there are new treatments getting developed all the time. While the popular or new treatments may work well for you, it’s important to realize that there are other therapies that may be a better fit and there is no one treatment that works for all people or all issues. It’s important that your healthcare provider is providing you with information to help you make informed choices about your care. By that I mean, they are helping you understand different treatment options you have, pros and cons of those options, and then letting you lead once you understand those choices.
Personal Insights
- Can you share a memorable experience from your practice that highlights the impact of therapy on an individual’s life? What keeps you motivated and passionate about your work in mental health?
One of my specialties is treating trauma and that means that, several times each week, I am hearing details about the worst things that can happen to people. Sometimes people ask me how I care for myself or don’t get burnt out when doing this type of patient care. The truth is that hearing these stories is sometimes hard, but seeing patients overcome these experiences is infinitely more rewarding. As many stories of abuse and neglect I hear, I also see people overcoming fear and shame, finding their voice, and finding joy. Knowing too that I play a role in this journey is deeply touching to me and I am grateful for the privilege that comes with being trusted in this way. There is something very special about being close to a person who is overcoming trauma or even overcoming other challenges, like learning to be a new parent or finding the courage to get a new job or stand up to a friend. These types of experiences drive me to continue the work I do.
Final Thoughts
- If there is one piece of advice you could give to our readers about mental health, what would it be? How can our readers learn more about your work or get in touch with you for support?
My main piece of advice is to recognize that, for all of us, finding better mental health is a journey in which none of us really are experts. We are all learners figuring out how to deal with all of the unpredictability and stress of life. It’s important to be patient with yourself and others who are on this journey, just like you would to someone else who is learning a new skill.
For further questions or support, I can be reached at alysse@littleberrytherapy.com.
For additional professional references, consider resources such as the:
– American Psychological Association (APA)
– National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
– Mental Health America (MHA)
– World Health Organization (WHO)
These organizations provide valuable information and resources on mental health topics.
