Meet Alaina

About Me

Hi there—I'm so glad you're here and am excited to get to know you! My name is Alaina, and I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Clinical Art Therapist. I am passionate about helping people become the best version of themselves, feel empowered, and get their spark back!
I graduated magna cum laude from Nazareth University with my Master of Science Degree in Creative Arts Therapy in 2018 and obtained my Florida Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) license in February 2022 (MH#20327). I am also an LMHC Qualified Supervisor in the State of Florida and truly enjoy supporting the next generation of therapists as they find their wings and grow into confident, compassionate clinicians.
I have completed EMDRIA training to provide EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing- it’s a mouthful, I know!) to both adults and children, which is a highly researched and evidence-based therapeutic approach that is highly effective for treating trauma, as well as other mental health disorders such as grief, anxiety, OCD, phobias, etc. I also have advanced EMDR training in Recent Traumatic Episode Protocol (R-TEP) and Group Traumatic Episode Protocol (G-TEP). R-TEP and G-TEP are approaches that help individuals to work through isolated incidents of trauma (i.e., an accident, natural disaster such as a hurricane or flood, shooting, or choking incident, etc.) in a way that is less invasive.
When I'm not in session, you might find me curled up with my dog or cats, reading a good book, binge-watching my favorite show, or getting competitive with my family while playing board games, cards, or Mario! I love to jam out to my favorite music, draw and paint, cook tasty meals and bake all sorts of treats! I enjoy walks with my family, sunsets, and a good thunder storm. I am a Florida transplant and hail from New York State. Some of my favorite past-times include downhill skiing, water skiing, going for relaxing boat rides, and riding horses with my family.

Experience

I have been providing outpatient therapy services to children and adults in the Fort Myers area for the last 8 years, and have been with Florida Art Therapy Services, LLC for almost 7 years. I have been blessed to have worked with such a wide variety of individuals across many different settings throughout my career.
Prior to joining Florida Art Therapy Services, LLC, I worked as a teacher for grades K-12, as an aid for children on the Autism Spectrum in an Applied Behavioral Analysis program, as a respite care provider for children with Autism, and worked for several years as a trauma therapist at the Children’s Advocacy Center. I also worked at a local school for several years, providing therapy to children in grades K-8 and served on the school’s threat management team to assist students in crisis.