FAQs
What is therapy like with you?
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Therapy with me is collaborative, reflective, and active. Sessions are a space to slow down, understand patterns more clearly, and explore new ways of responding to thoughts, emotions, and relationship dynamics.
Depending on your goals, we may focus on understanding and addressing the underlying processes that contribute to anxiety, improving communication in relationships, or working through difficult decisions. My role is not to direct your choices, but to help you gain clarity, insight, and practical tools so you can move toward what matters most to you.
Do you work with individuals, couples, or both?
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I work with both individuals and couples. Many clients come in for anxiety, life stress, or personal growth, while others seek support for relationship challenges such as communication difficulties, conflict, or disconnection.
I also work with couples who are uncertain about the future of their relationship and are considering whether to continue working on it or move toward separation.
What makes you different?
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I specialize in working with individuals and couples navigating anxiety, relationship challenges, and uncertainty about the future of their relationships, including couples who are unsure whether to stay together or separate.
My approach is collaborative, practical, and grounded in evidence-based methods, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and specialized couples counseling approaches such as Discernment Counseling and the Gottman Method.
Rather than focusing only on symptom relief, I help clients build psychological flexibility, strengthen communication, and develop a clearer sense of what matters most so they can make meaningful, values-based changes in their lives and relationships.
Do you offer virtual or in-person sessions?
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I currently provide counseling through LifeThrive Counseling, with services offered virtually via telehealth. Intake and scheduling are coordinated through LifeThrive.
What is Discernment Counseling, and how does it differ from couples therapy?
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Traditional couples therapy is designed for partners who have already decided they want to work on improving their relationship. The goal is to help couples better understand one another, strengthen communication, address challenges, and create positive change together.
By contrast, Discernment Counseling is a short-term, structured approach designed for couples where one partner is leaning toward ending the relationship while the other hopes to preserve it. In these situations, traditional couples therapy may not be the best starting point because the partners are not yet aligned on the goal of working on the relationship.
Rather than trying to solve all relationship issues immediately, the focus is on gaining clarity: understanding how the relationship reached this point, what each partner has contributed, and what direction feels most aligned moving forward. Couples typically leave with one of three decisions—commit to working on the relationship, move toward separation, or continue in a period of reflection before deciding.
This approach is especially helpful when traditional couples therapy feels too uncertain or overwhelming at the current stage.
If you're unsure which approach is the best fit for your situation, I would be happy to discuss your circumstances and help you determine an appropriate next step.
How do I schedule an appointment?
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To schedule an appointment, please visit LifeThrive Counseling’s website and select a date and time for an intake session. During the intake process, you may request to work with Alyse Aquino, and the intake team will do their best to match you based on availability and fit.
What therapeutic approaches do you use?
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I work with a range of concerns, with particular focus on anxiety, relationship challenges, communication difficulties, life transitions, and uncertainty in relationships.
I also support clients who feel stuck in patterns of overthinking, emotional overwhelm, or disconnection in their relationships and want to build more effective ways of responding to these experiences.
What issues do you help with?
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My work is primarily grounded in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and TEAM-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), along with evidence-based couples therapy approaches such as the Gottman Method and Discernment Counseling.
These approaches emphasize building psychological flexibility, improving communication, and helping clients respond more effectively to difficult thoughts, emotions, and relationship patterns.