Alicia Denney, LPC. Somatic Therapy, Resilience Building, Career Discernment
I believe in kindness. Also in mischief. Also in singing, especially when singing is not necessarily prescribed.
- Mary Oliver
Alicia Denney, LPC, SEP
Senior Therapist
Professional Profile
Alicia graduated with her Masters of Counseling from the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest and has more than 15 years’ experience as an LPC in Texas. She’s also a certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner since 2018, which is working with the body’s responses to stress along with those of the mind.
Alicia practices person-centered, trauma-informed, somatic therapy. She is creative and brings unique perspectives to her work with clients and peers.
Her specialties include building resilience, somatic mindfulness, anxiety reduction, complex grief and loss, bereavement, caregiving stressors, midlife, existential fear, and pre- and post- therapeutic processing of medical procedures. Her preferred client base is adult, from 25 years old all the way to elder.
Alicia's own life experience makes her a steady, humorous, take-the-panic-out-of-the-situation therapist with extensive clinical experience.
She is a musician and singer, writer, and artist who believes in lifelong learning, and finding adventures and laughing whenever possible!
Specialties
Anxiety
Caregiving
Chronic Pain / Illness
Depression
Existential Fear
Grief and Loss
Insomnia
Midlife Crisis
Post-Partum Depression
Somatic Mindfulness
Stress
Trauma
Insurance
Aetna
Cigna
Curative
Oscar
Optum
Oxford
Sana
United Healthcare
Private Pay
Welcome!
For whatever brings you here in search of support, you’re welcome here and you can totally hang out for a bit if it helps…
These days, the world feels like it’s moving faster than ever. I help others find ways to settle themselves, find their breath, and get out of their heads. I use clinical experience to help people learn about themselves and families, and to work on healing pain and finding clarity to be able to participate in life with some good boundaries, find humor and fun, and to regularly practice slowing down and being in the moment.
How I Work
I practice person-centered, trauma-informed, somatic psychotherapy for adults.
What do all those words mean? Let's break it down:
(1) Person-Centered Therapy: Focusing on dignity, compassion, respect, and personalized treatment with clients -- their capacity, tolerance, needs, and goals.
(2) Trauma-Informed Therapy: Recognizing and addressing the complex effects of stressful experiences in a client’s life and behavior.
(3) Somatic Therapy: Nervous system-inclusive psychotherapy work that gently explores the connection of mind/body. It can help GENTLY release stored emotions and stress in the body that are hard to access with talk-therapy alone.
For example, if you are feeling stressed out, it can be hard to make yourself focus or think. The symptoms of stress make remembering, focusing, thinking, resting, and even getting deep breaths pretty difficult. But there is good news!
The exercise below is a great way to encourage your body to have a small stress release. Even though the meme says “1 Minute Somatic Release”, you can also slow down each step and pay attention to what each step does for your body.
Now imagine doing this kind of relaxation with someone who can walk you through it and give feedback. Then imagine being able to do it while you’re in therapy as issues and feelings arise. It can help keep big feelings in balance so we can explore them.
I’m creative and bring unique perspectives to working with my clients and coworkers, drawing on clinical training in major modalities.
I also believe strongly that a person’s work life can be incorporated into therapy. I think it’s so important to our well-being that I spent several years in corporations becoming a sensitive, skilled people manager that I always wanted for myself.
My own life experience makes me a steady, humorous, take-the-panic-out-of-the-situation therapist with extensive clinical experience.
I’m creative and bring unique perspectives to working with my clients and coworkers, drawing on clinical training in major modalities. I also believe strongly that a person’s work life can be incorporated into therapy. I think it’s so important to our well-being that I spent several years in corporations becoming a sensitive, skilled people manager that I always wanted for myself.
Therapist Spotlight
What made you decide to become a counselor?
I don't think I ever consciously thought about it, it was a natural progression of my life. Then when I experienced somatic therapy a few years later, it was life-changing and I wanted to have those skills to maybe help take away some pain in the world.
If you could teach the world one skill or technique to improve their lives, what would it be?
Building and taking care of our resilience, as individuals, groups, and whole communities. Resources, Relationships, Regulation of Self, Resonance with the World, these things are the elements of Resilience and can be tended to and developed.
Have you personally been in counseling and if so, what did you learn about yourself?
100% yes, I've been in counseling and always will be! I think it's a critical part to *being* a counselor, working on myself so that I'm respecting my clients' journey as the priority when working with them. I believe I have to understand my own issues because they have no place in a client's session. What have I learned about myself? That learning about myself will take my whole life and even then, I won't be done. What a ride.
If you could recommend one book to all your clients, what would it be?
"It's OK That You're Not OK" by Megan Devine. In my opinion, it is the best work on early grief that is published. Megan's work was a lighthouse for me during my own losses and I will always follow her and read everything she writes. It's also a great general guide to what grief is, what it looks like, and how to help others experiencing it.
What inspires you to help others?
My belief that the world is a constant give-and-take between being connected and being isolated, and that every tiny bit of kindness, compassion, connection, and healing matters to the big picture.
Who is your ideal client?
I don't believe there is such a thing.
How do you personally practice self-care? Paying attention to balancing creativity, social connection, spirituality, taking my time, and my body's comfort.
If You’re hosting a dinner party. Who are the 3 people, living or dead, who you would invite and why?
Emma Thompson, Carol Burnett, Judi Dench. Why? It would be hilarious, witty, super smart, and stories for the ages!
How do you relate to Mindfulness? Give an example of how you incorporate it in your sessions.
I think because I'm a somatic therapist, I've gravitated to being aware of the million little miracles our bodies do every day. I think it's very hard to be anxious or overwhelmed when you're being mindful of your breath, or sitting with another person doing the same thing, or even relaxing your eyes. These are examples of things I've done in my work to help clients (and myself!) find still places in their bodies and minds to balance out life in this whirlwind world.