Qualifications and Areas of Practice

Alyson is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) who combines strong clinical skills, compassionate engagement and a passion for helping individuals, couples, and families from a wide variety of racial, religious and cultural backgrounds live more authentic, fulfilling lives in their personal and sexual relationships. She has more than a decade of professional experience working with clients in private practice and agency settings, Alyson uses a Systemic framework when helping clients, partners and couples gain new patterns of relating to improve intimacy while offering tools to increase their sexual self esteem.

Alyson treats clients with a wide range of sexual disorders and challenges including:

• low/absent desire
• Erectile Disorder
• Performance Anxiety
• Premature, Rapid or Uncontrolled Ejaculation
• Anorgasmia
• sexuality throughout the lifespan
• infidelity/affairs/cheating/broken monogamy agreements
• modern dating and coupling
• Pelvic, Vaginal and Penetrative pain (GPPPD)
• Out of Control Sexual Behavior (OCSB), Compulsive, Hypersexual Behavior, self-diagnosed porn or sex addiction
• self-esteem and body image related concerns
• communication
• boundary issues
• past emotional trauma
• past sexual assault, coercion, childhood abuse and boundary crossings that interferes with current sex life (PTSD)
• Delayed Ejaculation
• coming out
• Kink related issues
• navigating non monogamy and Poly relationships

Communities:

• Traditional Couples
• Clients from religious backgrounds (Orthodox Jewish, Mormon, Evangelical Christian, Catholic, Muslim, Hinduism)
• clients who may have been raised in a unique family unit (cult, sexually non-monogamous community)
• Vanilla Interests
• Polyamory
• Consensual Non-Monogamy
• LGBTQIA+
• Kink/BDSM (Lifestyle) interests

Alyson also is highly experienced in assessing and treating general psychotherapy diagnoses and concerns with individuals and couples including:

• Anxiety and Panic Disorders
• Depression
• ADHD, Executive Functioning Issues
• Interracial Relationship Couples Counseling
• Anger and Stress Management
• Pre-marital Counseling
• Family of Origin Relational Trauma
• Navigation through Family Life Cycle
• Foster Care and Adoption Support
• Contemporary Issues in Gender and Ethnicity
• post-separation & divorce co-parenting
• loss and bereavement

Academic Background

Alyson earned both her Masters (Psychological Studies) and her Education Specialist (Marriage and Family Therapy) degrees from Seton Hall University. Following several years of working in and creating programs for non-profit organizations, Alyson completed a post-graduate certificate in fundraising from New York University. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Counseling and Human Services from the University of Scranton.

Theoretical Orientation

Alyson’s warm and empathetic approach coupled with her keen ability to join with clients creates a space in which clients feel seen and supported. Alyson’s collaborates and encourages clients to use the strengths they already have as foundations to incorporate new techniques in their communication and sexual skills. She incorporates couples system therapy with sex therapy interventions, psychodynamic, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Mindfulness skills.

Alyson uses the Sex Esteem approach which believes that every person and partner comes from a subculture all its own and to truly grow one needs to approach your relationships with the compassion and curiosity about how your history impacts your beliefs and values. Through detailed sexual histories clients can learn how their relationships and previous sexual relationships have influenced the way partners approach conflict, erotic desire, romance and sexual behavior. By using a variety of visual tools including genograms (a kind of family map), Alyson is able to help clients with past or current emotional, physical and sexual traumas recover and heal in order to develop pleasurable intimacy.

Helping client understand their own bodies, including their brain, and encouraging the growth of mindfulness tools is woven throughout the therapeutic process. Alyson often provides additional readings, resources and Sex Esteem exercise in between session to help clients further their growth.

Professional and Community Associations

Alyson is an active member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT) and the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, & Therapists (AASECT).