ABOUT ALEXANDRIA HAYS
hello! I’m Allie
Throughout my entire life, I have always wanted to work with and help other people and I truly believe that everyone can learn to create a life they love and desire.
In August 2019, I graduated from LeTourneau University where I received my master's degree in professional counseling. Shortly after I moved to New Zealand where I gained experience working with children, adolescents, and individuals as well as their families. This exposure gave me insight into a wide range of clients and disorders. I am now based in Austin, Texas and I am registered as a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate under the supervision of Karen F. Breeding, MA, LPC-S.
“I hope to help my clients realize that although life happens to all of us, that does not mean it has to define you. ”
I fully believe in the capacity for change and understand that everyone at times is subject to the whims of a randomly cruel universe. I hope to help my clients realize that although life happens to all of us, that does not mean it has to define you. I strive to be an agent of positive change in the lives of others as I help my clients reach the optimum state of mental health and well-being that each unique individual is capable of achieving.
Through the relationships with my clients, I hope to help them learn to examine their thoughts, feelings, attitudes, values, and behaviors while creating a space for them to grow and change in positive ways. My main focus revolves around grief/loss, life transitions, depression, anxiety, challenging distorted thinking, relationships, and trauma recovery.
My Specialities
Anxiety
Depression
ADD / ADHD
PTSD / Trauma
Eating Disorders
Grief & Loss
Self-esteem
Stress
Relationship challenges
Life Transitions/Changes
MY APPROACH
The type of therapies that I utilize most often are:
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectal Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and narrative therapy.
CBT believes in the notion that our thoughts, feelings and behaviors all influence one another. Once this connection is made, it is easier for us to improve our lives and understand how our thoughts affect us on different levels so that we can begin to “rewire” our brains.
Distorted thinking leads to distress and problematic behaviors, whereas realistic thinking with less negativity allows us to respond to challenging life circumstances in appropriate ways. CBT is goal-oriented and specific to problems, with an overarching goal of achieving remission. A more productive thought process will have my clients better suited to deal with the problems that life brings about.
No one knows my client better than the client themselves, so I always make sure that they know that they are the experts. Which is why my practice is person-centered and tailored to each client’s specific needs. I believe that change is evoked through a healthy collaboration between client and counselor that is facilitated through therapeutic sessions. Many times, people come into counseling wondering what is wrong with them.
In fact, it’s never about what is wrong with you, it’s about what’s happened to you. Once that is unpacked, you can learn to “grow through what you go through” and you will be able to align your thoughts, behaviors and set yourself up for wellness.
What Being a Therapist Means to Me
Within counseling, I strive to incorporate mind, body, and spirit in order to help individuals live more fulfilled and wholehearted lives.
In 2024, the societal pressures we live under are intense. Through my relationships with clients, I hope to help them learn to examine their thoughts, feelings, attitudes, values, and behaviors enabling them to grow and change in positive ways. My practice is growth-oriented and helps clients to overcome developmental hurdles. Someone once told me that whatever I decided to do in my life and with my career, ensure that it creates value within the community. Over the years, that has always stuck with me. To me, nothing creates more value than evoking positive change within individuals that feel like they are stuck and can’t move forward.
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
- R.W Emerson