Joyce Alessi, LCSW
Clinical Social Worker/Therapist - LCSW
My name is Joyce E. Alessi. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I have been licensed in the state of California since 1992. I hold a Master’s in Dance/Movement Therapy from Loyola Marymount University (1983) and a Master’s in Social Welfare from UCLA (1989). I have worked in various settings: foster care agency, family services agency, behavioral health department in medical settings (Health Care Partners in Los Angeles, and Kaiser Permanente). I retired from Kaiser Permanente in 2014 after 16 ½ years working as a case manager for members with chronic and persistent mental health problems. My private practice is individual work with adults, ages 18 – 65. I do not see couples or families. I specialize in the anxiety spectrum, mood disorders, difficulties with relationships and life transitions, grief/bereavement. In recent years I have developed a couple of chronic illnesses, and have learned much about coping with them from both experience and education. In this country, 50% of adults have one or more chronic illnesses. This is a new development in healthcare, and slowly focus is turning towards providers learning how to help people with these illnesses.I use several approaches in my practice: cognitive behavioral, dialectical behavioral (note: I am not a DBT practitioner, I just incorporate the theory in my practice), solution-focused, narrative. All that is fancy talk for a) listening to people to see where they might be hurt, and b) working with people to find out what is getting in the way of living your life in the most healthy and fulfilling way, and c) problem solving to figure out what one can change in order to feel better and do better.Please note: As my practice is only part time, and I am a solo practitioner, I am limited in the amount of time I am available. Therefore, I am unable to accept into my practice clients who are acutely or severely suicidal or homicidal, who are involved in intense and dangerous situations e.g. domestic violence or abuse, whose functioning is severely impaired due to physical, mental or emotional difficulties. Those problems require a much higher and intense level of care than I am able to provide.I am a great believer in the power of one’s story. Our story is what we grow up with that says what we believe about the world, others, and ourselves. In our early lives, the biggest contributors to that story (and it’s many forms) are our families, friends, and our environment. As we get older, we play a bigger and bigger role in determining what is in the story, and how it is told. If one’s story is full of distortions and untruths, then we react to the story more than the reality in front of us. Therapy helps one to figure that out and decide what to do differently in the here and now to improve one’s life. I wish you well in your journey, and I look forward to working with you, if that occurs. Take care.
Skills and Expertise
Abuse / Survivors of Abuse
Adjusting to Change / Life Transitions
Adult
Anxiety
Caregiver Issues or Stress
Chronic Pain or Illness
Chronic Illness or Disability
codependency
Coping Mechanisms
Depression
Emotional Abuse
Family of Origin Issues
Fear
grief
Highly Sensitive Persons
Life Purpose
Loss
Loss or Grief
Mindfulness based therapy
Mood Disorders
Perfectionism
Stress
Trauma
Trauma and PTSD
Women's issue
Treatment Orientation
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
DBT Informed Therapy
Feminist
Health/Wellness-based
Humanistic
Mindfulness
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy
Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
Narrative
Psychodynamic
psychotherapy
Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)
Therapy unique to each client
Trauma Focused Therapy
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Modality