New Professionals Program

 

AN AFFORDABLE WAY TO HAVE GREAT THERAPY!! 

Our New Professionals Program offers Masters level interns and new graduates for your therapy needs. 

Fees range from 75-110.00 per hour.

Caitlyn Lipschitz, MA, LPMFT

Pronouns: she/her

Caitlyn (she/her) holds a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, with advanced studies in Child Therapy, which she obtained from Syracuse University.Her expertise lies in working with individuals, couples, families, and children/adolescents, employing a range of system-based approaches. Caitlyn’s therapeutic interventions are based on efficacy-based modalities that are person-centered, sexuality/gender-affirming, empowerment-focused, and social justice-orientated, such as Emotionally Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Narrative Therapy, and Play Therapy. Caitlyn has completed certification trainings in Integrate CBT and Exposure & Response Prevention for the Treatment of GAD, Panic Disorder, OCD, Social Anxiety, and phobias and Treating Affairs and Trauma utilizing the Gottman Method.

Caitlyn believes that the therapy process should support clients in their further investment in themselves and help them to grow into the person they desire to be. This therapy process applies to the various client systems she works with. She firmly believes that change occurs when we become aware of negative patterns/cycles, and it is her role to cultivate an emotionally safe environment to allow for such exploration and restructuring.

Caitlyn specializes in children/adolescent counseling, anxiety treatment, depression, marital and family counseling, coping skills, boundary setting, behavioral issues, caregiver support, chronic illnesses, and LGBTQIA+ affirming care. She also facilitates the enhancement of interpersonal communication skills, guiding families and couples to move beyond conflicts and fostering emotional safety that increases emotional understanding and, therefore, harmony. Moreover, Caitlyn’s approach encompasses boosting self-esteem, supporting introspection and self-exploration, and effectively addressing emotional distress.

 

 

Forde Kay, MA, LPMFT

Pronouns: he/him

I am a graduate from the Syracuse University Marriage & Family Therapy Department with an Advanced Certificate in Trauma Studies. I work with individuals, couples, and families to build stronger foundations of self-awareness, emotional intelligence, communication, and interpersonal skills. Using humor, integrative therapeutic techniques pulling from efficacy-based models, and a direct approach, I seek to create collaborative therapeutic spaces in which clients feel safe to express themselves honestly and authentically.

Believing a systemic approach to therapy provides the necessary framework to best tackle the unique experiences and needs of my clients, I empower individuals with the agency and tools to thrive. I have advanced training and specialty in Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD), gender expansive and affirming care, and the LGBTQ+ community.

Celest Henry, Intern

Pronouns: she/her

Celestine (Celest) Henry is a Marriage and Family Therapy graduate student studying at Syracuse University. She is a resident intern with Alkira who has experience working with families, individuals, and couples from the SU Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic. Celest brings warmth, compassion, and authenticity into the room to meet you where you are at-she believes transparency will help enhance the therapeutic relationship. Celest has experience working with individuals/couples that identify as a part of the LGBTQ+ community.  She understands the importance of exploring intimacy within the couple dynamic to create or rebuild the connection between its members.  Her interests and experiences with children and families include considering the life cycles within a family system and working as a teacher at Bernice M. Wright Daycare where she interacts with children through play-based activities.

Caroline Epperson, Intern

Pronouns: she/her

Caroline is currently working towards her masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Syracuse University. Caroline has extensive work experience with children and families in turmoil, and is excited to bring her calm compassionate presence to children and adolescents in need. Her clinical interests include working with the LGBTQ+ community, ethically non monogamous couples, and couples who participate in alternative sexual lifestyles, struggling with sexual issues, and infidelity. Caroline believes in affirmative therapy techniques and pursuing a strength based approach with each individual, couple, and family.

Giovanni Torres, MA

Pronouns: he/him

Giovanni (Gio) earned his master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Syracuse University. Gio has experience working with couples, families, and individuals and helps them on their journey towards self-growth in both their personal lives and within their relationships, and completed a recent training on using EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy) with couples.

Gio is open and honest believing that transparency and safety are central to a beneficial therapeutic relationship. He is warm, caring, and collaborative when working with his clients. Finally, Gio is passionate about working with men to break the stigma of asking for help and working with couples to guide them through any problems they face in life.

 

Summer Abbott, MA, LPMFT

Pronouns: she/her

If you want to move from loneliness to connection, from fear to vulnerability, or from emptiness to fulfillment, I can be a gentle guide to explore your struggles in an environment of safety and care. We can uncover, together, what type of growth will bring joy back to your life.

As we sift through multiple overlapping stories, therapy can help you identify what you need to focus on to grow. Parts of yourself you haven’t seen before can be loved and appreciated, and those pieces that are uncomfortable can be explored and understood. Together we can work on taking care of your precious inner life, we will create a space for healing. Through this healing, side effects may include a greater sense of self-confidence, a stronger sense of identity, or a life more deeply rooted in love.

It is my philosophy that we all contain the possibility of healing. We have inside us the keys for what we need to live a happy life. I bring unconditional encouragement and support to help you find a fresh perspective.  Therapy can help you understand more deeply your needs and desires.

Clinical specialties:

  • Trauma Informed Care
  • Emotion tolerance, distress tolerance
  • Self-actualization / individuation / overcoming codependency
  • Life transitions
  • Relationship issues / Marital conflict
  • Infidelity
  • Sex or intimacy issues
  • Estrangement / Divorce
  • Treatment Approaches:
  • Relationship counseling
  • Humanistic models
  • Behavior based models, like Dialectical Behavior Therapy
  • Trauma- Informed Care
  • Emotionally Focused Therapy
  • EFT (Tapping)
  • Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)

Why do you have interns?

At Alkira, we believe and follow best care practices-working together to hone our clinical skills in a small group practice to bring you the best of our individual clinical abilities from our shared vision of compassion, openness and hope.  

To do this well, we blend current knowledge and approaches brought by our field’s newest clinicians with our licensed therapists’ many decades of experience. Our new intern clinicians come to Alkira to be part of our shared vision and learn from our most seasoned therapists, bringing with them knowledge of the most advanced research and therapeutic approaches and the excitement of learning and helping you. 

 

How does this work?

You schedule an appointment with an intern/LP whose approach and schedule works well for you, and just like therapy everywhere, you meet and discuss your concerns. 

The added benefit is what happens in between your sessions: your therapist consults with their supervisor and together they decide how to best help you. The supervisor can join your session now and then if desired as well. Because of this collaboration, when working with an intern you also gain the benefit of an additional therapist’s expertise without the additional cost. 

With smaller caseloads to ensure focused supervision for every client, new therapists are able to be more flexible in scheduling, and have more time to plan your session and research beneficial interventions tailored specifically to you or your child. 

 

Can I use insurance?

Because health insurances do not reimburse non-licensed providers, we offer substantially reduced rates in our New Professionals Program. This helps us offer great therapy at affordable rates.  And, these costs do count towards large deductibles and health savings plans.

 

What do I do next?

To work with one of our up-and-coming therapists, email alkiraintake@gmail.com or call the office at 315-492-1390 and ask about Alkira’s interns or limited-permit staff.  And, you can check out their interviews on Alkira’s facebook page and youtube.