Alexa Keramidas (she/her)

To me, women's issues (including trans women, trans femme, and genderfluid folx) may include interpersonal boundaries, imposter syndrome, social role conflict, and sexual health. Although these concerns are not exclusive to women, socialization within a patriarchal society can lead women to be more vulnerable to them. In my clinical work with women, I emphasize agency, choice, and self-compassion to support women in feeling more in control and empowered in their lives.

In our diet- and weight-obsessed culture, most of us struggle to make peace with our bodies, food, and exercise. When working with these clients, my approach is informed by the Health At Every Size paradigm, which de-emphasizes the importance of weight/body size and denounces size discrimination. Through this approach, I support clients in the development of a more flexible, positive, and accepting relationship to food and body.

Sometimes, anxiety is so powerful that it disrupts our functioning, leads us to avoid activities that we love, or keeps us from being present in our lives. Whether your anxiety is generalized, social, work/school related, or takes some other form, it usually serves a function. For instance, anxiety may function to protect us from feeling shame or vulnerability. In therapy, I work with clients to turn toward their anxiety with curiosity in order to relate to triggering situations in a new way.

In our diet- and weight-obsessed culture, most of us struggle to make peace in our relationships with our bodies, food, and exercise. When working with clients in these areas, my approach is informed by the Health At Every Size paradigm, which de-emphasizes the importance of body size and denounces size discrimination. Through this approach, I support clients in the development of a more flexible, positive, and accepting relationship with food and body.

As a proud feminist myself, I have been drawn to the tenets of Feminist Therapy since early in my training. Feminist approaches to therapy highlight the role that oppressive forces (misogyny, racism, etc.) shape our experience. Oftentimes, "symptoms" or "maladaptive" behaviors represent ways we attempted to resist oppression. Feminist therapy acknowledges the ways in which our social identities impact our experience and provides exploration of more empowered ways to navigate our lives.

In order to address our present-day problems, it is valuable to develop insight into our past. As a psychodynamic therapist, I value exploration of impactful early experiences to help clients better understand themselves and their challenges. This exploration can be relieving, as clients realize that their problems may not be their fault. Armed with this insight, I work with clients to honor the way their old coping kept them safe and create space to explore new ways of approaching problems.

We all carry some form of trauma. In addition to overt examples of trauma like violence, assault, or combat trauma, trauma can be more insidious, like interpersonal trauma, poverty, racism, bullying, social rejection, and religious trauma. Healing trauma through therapy may be a long-term process, and I tailor my approach to the unique experience of the client. For example, trauma work may involve naming and exploring impact, processing shame, and exploring new ways of relating to the event(s).