Teletherapy for Massachusetts

Young people's lives are now moving at a faster pace; they encounter more complexity and demands with each day. Thus, they find themselves more overwhelmed than ever before. I will work with you in a collaborative and respectful manner to identify meaningful targets that can be gainfully addressed.

Research has shown that people don't learn from people they don't like. Effective therapy evolves if the person seeking help likes the helper and experiences the helper as empathic, humble, competent, humorous and caring. Therapy is a respectful, mutually active endeavor between the helper and the patient in which the client feels comfortable, safe, and confident. Constructive therapy gives clients hope: that they will experience increasing well-being; that they will enhance their quality of life; that their social relationships will improve; and they will feel greater congruence between their feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.

Hi! My name is Alenka Larsen. I am a Licensed Certified Social Worker in Massachusetts and I work with children (10 and older), adolescents, and adults struggling with any of the following issues: OCD, depression/anxiety, trauma, body dysmorphia, and self-harm.

What is a life worth living for you? This is ultimately the question we will journey into. Our work might explore your ways of relating to the given "problem", reframe particular internalized narratives, educate you on neurobiological frameworks, and/or encourage you to draw upon your own unique heritage, hopes, and motivations toward your behavioral change and your preferred life. I hope to remind each person of the maxim of narrative therapy: "the problem is the problem; the person is not the problem" (White, 1998). So, what story would you like to write through your actions, values, and life?

As an emerging clinician who relocated from California to Massachusetts, I bring the unique perspective of Restoration Therapy. From childhood, we develop ways to cope with pain. Later on, however, these coping methods may no longer be effective. Restoration Therapy organizes a cohesive narrative of our pain, brings insight into our coping strategies, and equips individuals and couples with agency towards making healthier choices that reflect a restoration of identity and safety. I am passionate about bridging the connection between first and second-generation Asian immigrants and focusing on issues of faith and religious trauma.

Our program at New England Center for OCD and Anxiety (Boston and Los Angeles) offers specialized, affirmative, compassionate, and culturally responsive care for individuals and families struggling with treatment refractory OCD and related disorders. We offer Telehealth, in-home, community, and school-based services to support you where you need it most. We use a strengths-based, affirmative approach that includes ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention), ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), and ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis), to help every client build a rich and meaningful life they can love.