Alyssa’s interest in psychology and the helping professions was sparked in her early to mid-20’s when she developed chronic pain. It was not until her late 20’s that she realized the importance of the mind-body connection and found psychoeducation and therapy to be helpful in her own journey of recovery. Alyssa decided to make it her career and returned to school to pursue a Master of Social Work (MSW) from the University of Southern California.
While in graduate school, Alyssa gained experience treating adults and adolescents in outpatient therapy. After graduating, she worked as an emergency response clinician, where she had the privilege of helping vulnerable adults dealing with mental health crises, and later as a psychotherapist to foster children displaced from their families and homes, many of whom had histories of abuse, neglect, and complex trauma. Her talents in working with hard-to-reach youth soon carried her over to another role of providing long-term and intensive psychotherapy to victims of commercial and sexual exploitation (human trafficking), which inspired her to seek additional clinical training in addiction, nutrition and mental health, dissociative symptoms, and neuroscience. The knowledge she gained has served her especially well in private practice, as trauma is universal, though oftentimes the people who come to therapy do not fully understand why they feel so overwhelmed riding the waves of everyday life.
Alyssa is now a licensed therapist with 10 years of experience treating individuals with post-traumatic stress, depressive, and anxiety disorders. Her approach is client-centered and strengths-focused, as she has found that tapping into a person’s capacity to grow and change is the best way to instill hope and transcend barriers. Alyssa’s therapeutic specialties include treating adults and adolescents working through experiential avoidance of persistent triggers (or reminders of past trauma), attachment and relationship difficulties, stage of life crises, grief and loss, codependency, addiction, and medical and sexual trauma.
Alyssa is certified in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a highly effective therapy for treating persons struggling with intrusive memories of painful events, as well as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), which draws from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and utilizes skills-building and behavioral tools to help people improve their frustration tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness in social interactions. In addition to her clinical certifications, Alyssa is also trained and experienced in using Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).
Alyssa remains committed to working with individuals navigating through different seasons of life.
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Alyssa is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, LCS 91022, in the State of California. Contact Alyssa: Via email at avergara@therapycompassrose.com – Via telephone at 909.655.0765