Comparison is the thief of joy
- Mark Twain
In-person (North Location)
Telehealth
Adolescents
Adults
Offers in-person sessions Wednesdays and Thursdays at our North location
Alexandria Bresnahan
Masters Practicum Student, Supervised by Brittany Tyrrell
Professional Profile
Alexandria is a current Master’s of Social Work student at Tulane University set to graduate in December 2024. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Boston University in 2013. While she is new to this field, she has ten years of experience in a career that was focused on building and fostering relationships. After her own experience with therapy, she decided to make a career change and join the therapeutic field. She is studying under our other therapists to develop her skills and welcomes the chance to work with you. Alexandria is originally from New Hampshire and moved to Austin two years ago with her dog, Taco. She loves how active the city is and likes to spend time outside as much as possible. She also enjoys cooking, traveling, and is currently learning Spanish to expand her current language skills.
Specialties
Anxiety
Depression
Stress Management
Attachment
Family conflict
Trauma
Stress Management
Insurance
Private Pay / Self Pay, Low Cost / Sliding Scale
Welcome
I’m excited you’re here to begin the therapeutic process. I know it can be difficult to take the first step and I want you to know I am here to create a safe and welcoming space for you to start your work. My goal is to help you work through whatever may be on your mind whether that is managing stress or working through some big life changes. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have around therapy and I look forward to the opportunity to work with you.
How I Work
To begin, I think it is important to get to know one another a bit to make sure you feel comfortable sharing throughout our sessions. We will also discuss what your short term and long term goals are with therapy so we can understand what areas to focus on. It’s okay if you don’t know your goals yet, we can always work through that together. Once we have established our direction, I will then determine which approach may be best for our work. As our work continues, we can always shift the needs as things in life can always change. I will help you build on the skills you currently have, learn new techniques for your toolkit, and gently challenge you when necessary.
My goal is to help you work through whatever may be on your mind whether that is managing stress or working through some big life changes. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have around therapy and I look forward to the opportunity to work with you.
Therapist Spotlight
What made you decide to become a counselor?
After ten years in software sales, I realized I wanted to find a career that allowed me to serve others and have an impact on someone else’s life in a meaningful way. I did some significant work to understand what values were important to me in my next job and realized that I aligned closely with the values of social work. I also have a passion for mental health awareness and knew I could use that passion to drive change not only in my own life, but for others as well.
If you could teach the world one skill or technique to improve their lives, what would it be?
I would teach everyone self awareness. I truly believe that if everyone had the ability to look within themselves and see how they impact others in their interactions, we would be able to better understand one another. This understanding would lead to more open communication and acceptance of everyone’s differences.
Have you personally been in counseling and if so, what did you learn about yourself?
I have been in therapy for over six years and I can confidently say it was the best decision I made for myself. I have learned tools to help with my own mental health, improve my communication with others, and it’s where I discovered that I was ready for a career change. Throughout my sessions, I worked hard to understand what was most important to me in life and how I could change my day to day to build on my long term goals that aligned with my core values.
If you could recommend one book to all your clients, what would it be?
Fat Talk by Virginia Sole-Smith or The Tools by Phil Stutz
Who is your ideal client?
I believe for anyone to have success with therapy, they need to be willing to receive the help and be ready for growth. Therefore, an ideal client is someone who is open to learning and changing throughout their sessions in order to achieve their goals.
What inspires you to help others?
I’m coming from a career that was very focused on the success of the corporation versus the happiness of its employees, and that approach is what pushed me to look for a different path. I wanted to do something that had a positive impact on people and that could bring real change to someone’s life, no matter how small that change may be. This perspective shift along with the impact that therapy has had on my own life is what has inspired me to try to help others in the same way.
How do you personally practice self-care?
I try to practice small daily rituals and also have larger self care goals. For example, each night, I have a routine that starts with a mindfulness meditation to prepare for sleep and continues with a full skincare regimen that helps me mentally wind down from the day. I also love to go on long walks almost every day and listen to audiobooks or podcasts. It gives me time to myself without any other distractions. Some of the longer term goals I have include things like becoming more disciplined in my workout routine to become more consistent and planning a vacation for once I graduate next December.
If you are hosting a dinner party, who are the 3 people you would invite and why?
First, I would invite my grandmother, who passed away several years ago. I would also invite Prince as I think he was incredibly progressive not only with his music, but also with his views on identity and self worth. The third guest would be Warren Buffet as his vast knowledge of so many subjects would certainly lend itself to an interesting conversation. I also chose these three people as they all lived in different eras than I have and they could each share some learnings from the past.
How do you relate to Mindfulness? How do you incorporate it in your sessions?
I believe mindfulness is a deep form of self awareness that allows you to be more present. In my opinion and experience, self awareness is key in long term growth and development in therapy and in every aspect of life. In my sessions, I would try to help clients build their self awareness so they could have that available in their toolkit while working through various points in life. By developing the ability to pause in a situation, you ultimately develop mindfulness in the process.