Alex graduated with his bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and a master’s in counseling from Eastern Illinois University. He began his counseling journey as a school counselor to realize his passion for helping kids and teens reach their full potential in response to his own struggles as a student. Alex is now a licensed professional counselor dedicated to supporting and building a strong therapeutic relationship with his clients by creating a trusting atmosphere where vulnerability is encouraged and accepted.

As a student growing up, Alex struggled to learn the value of hard work and discipline. It was not until his junior year in college that he began to truly understand these values and recognized within himself the desire to help others. He began serving as a small group leader at his church where he became aware of his passion for hearing life stories and most importantly, the need to extend acceptance and value to all people. Thus began his journey to graduate school and his path towards becoming a counselor.

Alex’s experience as a school counselor provided him the opportunity to work with students ranging from kindergarten through high school. In this journey, he gained extensive experience working with the middle school population where he excelled at connecting with students experiencing anxiety, school refusal, depression, learning disabilities and identity development. As a school counselor, Alex focused on short-term, and at times crisis counseling, to assist students in working through issues to enable them to return to the classroom and increase their daily functioning in the school environment.

He is looking forward to expanding his work with adult clients as he enjoyed supporting the parents of the children he worked with, gaining their trust and respect to provide care to the whole family unit. Alex felt called to transition from the school setting as he aspires to make deeper, more meaningful, and longer lasting impacts in his clients’ lives. Alex also serves as a coach for both girls and boys middle school basketball, where he finds he is also able to fulfill his passion for helping people become the best version of themselves; both on and off the court.

In his therapeutic work, Alex often utilizes a Person-Centered Approach, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness techniques, and Solution Focused Therapy (SFT) with his clients. Additionally, he has experience using Play Therapy, Sandtray Therapy, and Art Therapy techniques for clients who are developmentally younger to help them express their thoughts and needs. His expertise lies with those experiencing anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, school struggles, self-esteem issues, conflict resolution, social skills, stress management, sport performance, self-harm, and suicidal ideation. As a life-long learner, Alex hopes to continue to challenge himself through meeting clients from diverse backgrounds and experiences, support them and provide them with the tools necessary to live a fulfilling life.  He feels the learning will be mutual and that each client will allow him to continue evolving into the best counselor he can be. 

Alex believes that therapy can truly be beneficial for anyone and everyone if they are willing to put in the hard work. Oftentimes, that hard work is simply being vulnerable. Alex believes that being vulnerable and being courageous are one and the same, and the first steps towards building resilience and maximizing life. Through empathy, Alex works hard to ensure that his clients feel heard. Additionally, Alex believes that true change and impact can only be made through a positive relationship. Thus, Alex will work hard to ensure that a caring and trusting therapeutic alliance is formed along with creating a non-judgmental atmosphere centered around trust, growth, forgiveness, and love.

In his free time, Alex loves fitness and movement. He enjoys many different workouts including resistance training, speed/agility/quickness training, and playing basketball. He is a huge Chicago Bulls fan. Additionally, he loves listening to podcasts, going on walks, watching tv shows/movies, playing video games, and eating good food!