Maddie Alvaro, MA, LPC

I obtained my Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Wheaton College, with a specialization in trauma. My practice includes work with children, adolescents, and adults related to issues of depression, anxiety, trauma, sexuality, relational stress, identity, religion, and existential despair. I have experience working with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, mood dysregulation, trauma responses, adverse childhood experiences, sexuality, gender, youths exhibiting sexualized symptoms, painful life transitions, and strained family relationships. In addition, I have completed research centered around sexual and gender identity with specific attention to distress within familial and religious contexts.

I believe that effective child therapy requires engagement with the child’s family system and
other systems related to their daily life and functioning. I have a collaborative approach to child
therapy and believe in creativity and play as primary components of expression in the therapeutic process.

In working with adults, I am interested in delving into concerns of relational health, religious
trauma, sexuality, and the impacts of society and systems on an individual. I work from a
relational, trauma-informed, strengths-based, and culturally sensitive framework. I build from a
CBT and client-centered approach to therapy while being attentive to the impact of the past as it
relates to current issues.

I aim to foster an environment of safety, creativity, and collaboration where individuals can feel
empowered to grow and flourish.