About Alice McGuin, LCSW
Take Charge of Your Life with Relational EMDR Therapy in Fairfax, VA
Northern Virginia based therapist who specializes anxiety, trauma and teen issues using relational EMDR.
let me be the first to tell you:
You’re doing better than you think.
Clients often come into my office feeling frustrated and like they are hitting walls everywhere they turn. For some, it’s manageable enough, but they feel they need some help tuning up things in their life. For others, it’s hard to get out of bed, and life feels like it’s swallowing them whole. What I do know for sure is that time and time again, my clients are doing so much better than they think they are - I can almost guarantee you are too!
Sometimes it just gets hard to have a clear picture on what the real issues are, and trying to figure it all out on your own just isn’t working. That’s where I come in. With compassion, humor and a little tough love, we will work together to help you find clarity on where you are going and develop the tools to get there.
How I work
Therapy is relational.
There is a saying in the therapy world “It’s the relationship that heals” - Irvin Yalom
Our past informs the present, often in ways we don’t entirely understand. In our work together, we’ll develop an understanding of what parts of your past still impact you today, and through the therapeutic relationship, offer new ways to relate to yourself and the world.
I will support you.
I will challenge you.
I will hold space for you.
I will have positive regard for you despite any of the things you tell me.
A little more about Alice
The most important factor to positive therapy outcomes is the therapeutic relationship, and I strive to provide a safe, warm and even fun environment where you can feel heard and understood. Anyone with the desire to change can do so it is my privilege to help my clients remove barriers to leading the healthy and thriving lives they deserve!
I offer a therapeutic space that is sex positive, affirming for poly, ethical non-monogamy (ENM) and kink aligned clients. I am an ally to marginalized communities, safe for the LBGTQIA+ community, and I support choice.
My practice focuses on reducing symptoms of trauma, anxiety, and depression. In addition to traditional talk therapy, I have specialized training in a body-based method called EMDR.
Having spent the first half of my career in the corporate world, I have a unique understanding of the busy NoVA life from the "other side of the couch".
Having grown up in Northern Virginia, I deeply understand the unique stressors and opportunities this area provides.
I spent twenty years in the corporate world leading teams in talent acquisition, resource management, and learning program delivery for several Fortune 500 companies, spending my last 10 years at Deloitte. During this time, I worked with a therapist to break patterns that were not serving me and develop the tools needed to build the life I desired.
Seeing the transformation therapy brought into my own life, a calling to do this work became clear. At 36 I returned to school graduating 4 years later with my Master’s Degree in Clinical Social work from Virginia Commonwealth University.
A few important notes…