Feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and exhausted constantly? Isolated and alone because you don’t want to burden your friends or family with your problems? Or maybe you don’t know quite how to name why you feel this way or how to talk about it. Well, there is good news - therapy is the place to explore these challenging thoughts and feelings. I’ve worked in mental health since 2016, helping people of all ages, backgrounds, and challenges. I approach mental health challenges with a holistic mindset to help identify what we can change, inside of our control, and increase reliance. Depression, anxiety, ADHD, and trauma are a few examples of mental health struggles that impact how we live and experience the world. However, the opposite is also true! Because our lifestyles can influence our ability to tolerate stress and feel good about ourselves. My job as a therapist is to help you work through what is working, and what isn't working, and what we can do about it. I believe in us working as a team and supporting you in achieving your goals, so you can reconnect with your inner strength, resilience, and confidence to manage life's challenging ebbs and flows. Why choose me? Well, to help me feel like less of a stranger, here is more detail about my background. My M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling is from Lenoir Rhyne University's Graduate Center of Asheville, NC in Dec. 2020. I hold a B.S. in Psychology from Longwood University in Farmville, VA. I'm a Qualified Mental Health Professional with 5.5 years of direct care experience with adolescents in residential treatment. My graduate internship was community and school-based outpatient therapy with Access Family Services. August 2021 to March 2024, I was an outpatient therapist, in-person and virtual, with a company in the Chapel Hill area.

What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?

As we get started in our work together, there are two things I will focus on: 1) creating a safe space through honest, direct communication, empathy, and acceptance. 2) fostering and nurturing curiosity towards your inner experiences, relationships with others, and the world around you. These are foundational to the work we will do together. Expect to feel, at times, uncomfortable and difficult emotions. Know that I will be present to support you through them as it is a normal part of the process - after all, discomfort precedes change. I can't "fix" you but I can help you understand what that means to you. There are no shortcuts to feeling better, or processing trauma, we have to be willing and open to facing the hard stuff - which we can do together.

Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.

My strengths: - Resource mining for both educational and community support purposes (free if possible). - The ability to put into words difficult experiences, thoughts, and feelings. - Explaining concepts and processes thoroughly yet in an easy-to-understand manner. - Teaching practical life skills that support positive outcomes. - Personal experience: I have explored and intentionally tried different types of therapies so I can understand what it is like to be the patient/client. I will never ask you to do anything or try anything that I have not tried or done myself, or at the very least wouldn't be willing to try.

About Ally Yarsinske