Hi! I'm Aleks.

Aleks Stepanenko is a Licensed Social Worker with a Master of Social Work from The Ohio State University. They received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Evolutionary Anthropology and certificate in Sexuality Studies from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Aleks welcomes those who feel somehow out of step with the rest of the world. Informed by both their training and personal background, Aleks focuses on affirming care for people of diverse genders, sexual practices, living arrangements and relationship styles, as well as people with immigrant and other multicultural backgrounds. They have experience providing trauma-informed support for people seeking to integrate psychedelic or other intense experiences.

Aleks comes from an anti-oppressive, neurodiversity-affirming, harm reduction perspective. That is, they recognize the systems and life experiences that can make it so hard to exist in this world, and truly believe that you’ve done your best to make it this far with the tools you’ve had. Their approach is collaborative: you bring your thoughts and feelings, and they’ll welcome them with compassion and curiosity.

They incorporate methods from evidence-based interventions like Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and are pursuing training in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). But the most evidence-based part of therapy is the connection you have with your therapist! So if you’re getting the feeling that you would get along, send Aleks an email to schedule a brief getting-to-know-you consultation call as the first step.

In their free time, Aleks participates in collective community-building projects, watches very long YouTube video essays, and gives friends advice on how to train their cats to do tricks.

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Supervised by Laura Valentino, LISW-S (License I.1502016-SUPV)