ALICIA AYVAS, LCSW, CEDS-C

I am the Founder of Clarity Counseling and have worked in eating disorders and trauma since 2008. As a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Supervisor, I bring compassion, collaboration, and evidence-based treatment to help clients find peace in mind, body, and spirit. I am currently accepting new clients and would be honored to support you on your recovery journey.

My mission is to offer evidenced-based treatment to individuals and families impacted by an eating disorder and co-occurring disorders and commit to the prevention, education, and treatment of those living in Northern Virginia. For too long services were limited in this area and I am very excited to have offices in Gainesville, Reston, Ashburn, Richmond, and virtually. I work primarily in Gainesville and virtually, and in every office, Clarity has nutritionists in house and family therapists, all of which are specialized in the treatment of eating disorders. I believe it is imperative to work together with my client, their family, and a multidisciplinary team of professionals when treating eating disorders and through that collaboration, I hope to make a difference within the field of mental health.

I am a certified eating disorder specialist and supervisor as well as hold certification in DBT. have been working in the field of eating disorders since 2008 and I am committed to help client’s understand and fully overcome their eating disorder's so that they have peace within their mind, body, and spirit. I earned her Bachelors of Arts at Rutgers University and Masters of Science at Columbia University. While at Columbia in 2009, I was formally trained and certified in DBT by Behavioral Tech and attend monthly consultations groups and facilitate weekly groups within Clarity to date. In 2017 I became a certified eating disorder specialist through the International Academy of Eating Disorder Professionals (iaedp), in 2018 I earned my certification to be a supervisor for providers working toward their certification and as of 2019 hold a co-chair positions within iaedp's Alexandria chapter for certification and currently am the vice president of our new DCMetro chapter for iaedp. I am excited to be a leader in the field and am committed to giving back. I am licensed in VA/MA to practice and supervise in VA as well as provide supervision for providers working toward their CEDS. Lastly, I recently completed work with Stanford University and UCSF, under the supervision of Dr. Locke and Dr. LeGrange (developers of FBT). As of Fall 2021, I am a Certified Family Based Therapist (CFBT). In 2023 myself and our Clarity team committed to receiving formal training with the developer of Radically Open Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (RO-DBT) and I am currently Level 2 certified and attend bi-weekly consultation/supervision groups for continued support as I master this new transdiagnositic treatment, follow protocol for best practice to compliment the FBT and DBT training I have to best support individuals and families.

I am energetic, passionate, and dedicated to empowering individuals and families who are impacted by eating disorders and mental illness. My primary methods are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, and Family Based Therapy. I am HAES™ align and a trauma informed provider. All in all, I am committed to the prevention, research, and evidence-based interventions for full recovery among individuals and families who are affected by eating disorders and co-occurring illnesses.