LPC, 18 years of experience
New to Grow
Hello, I’m Dr. Aliris Alicea, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (FL) / Licensed Professional Counselor (NJ and CT) passionate about supporting individuals as they navigate life’s challenges and discover their inner strengths. I offer a safe, compassionate space where you can explore your thoughts and feelings, learn practical coping skills, and build the life you want. My approach is collaborative, culturally sensitive, and grounded in evidence-based practices like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help you create meaningful and lasting change.
In our first session, we’ll focus on getting to know you—your story, your strengths, and what brought you to therapy. I’ll ask questions to better understand your goals, challenges, and hopes for our work together. This session is also an opportunity for you to ask questions, explore what therapy might look like, and begin building a safe and supportive space where you can feel heard and understood.
My greatest strengths include creating a compassionate, nonjudgmental space where clients feel safe to open up and be themselves. I’m skilled at helping clients uncover patterns that may be holding them back and guiding them toward practical strategies for lasting change. I draw from evidence-based approaches such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), blending them with a culturally sensitive and strengths-based perspective to help clients build resilience, gain clarity, and move forward with confidence.
I work best with adults who are ready to explore their emotional well-being and create meaningful change in their lives. Many of my clients come to therapy seeking support for anxiety, stress, depression, relationship challenges, or life transitions, and are open to learning new ways to cope and grow. I especially enjoy working with individuals who are motivated to understand themselves more deeply, build resilience, and develop practical skills to improve their overall quality of life.
In my practice, I use an eclectic therapeutic approach, which means I draw from a variety of evidence-based methods to meet your unique needs. No two people are alike, and no single therapy model fits everyone. Instead, I integrate the most effective tools from different schools of thought — such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Person-Centered Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Techniques, and Solution-Focused Therapy — to create a personalized plan that aligns with your goals, strengths, and values. This approach allows our sessions to remain flexible and responsive. Some moments may focus on developing coping strategies and practical skills; other times, we may explore emotions, relationships, or deeper patterns of thought and behavior. The goal is always the same: to support your healing, growth, and restoration from the inside out. Ultimately, an eclectic approach honors the whole person — body, mind, and spirit — and recognizes that your journey is as unique as you are.