Alex
(she/her)
Alex Galipeau, MSW, LCSW
Hey! Great to meet you. I’m Alex (she/her and I’ve been a child and family therapist for six years. Along with providing therapy, I am also a certified trainer in the MATCH protocol and have trained dozens of clinicians to provide this excellent, evidence-based therapy. I received my Master’s of Social Work from UNC-Chapel Hill, with a focus on Child & Adolescent Mental Health. Before joining the team at Starling I worked with our owner, Laura, at EK Powe as a school based therapist. I’m excited to continue my work supporting families and kids in a new setting.
I knew I wanted to work closely with kids and families at a young age, after working at a YMCA overnight summer camp. I feel so lucky that I found a profession where I can play and have fun while also positively impacting the families I serve.
My Approach
Above all else, I meet my clients and families exactly where they are with lots of warmth and compassion. My style is direct, playful and engaging, while also being very skills-based. I have a very wide range of experience with kids and teens with varied backgrounds and diagnoses, including ADHD, anxiety, depression, trauma and conduct disorders. I use play, art, role-play and engaging skills instruction to build rapport and connect with my clients. Each session with a client includes time for play, time for sharing, and time for actively learning new coping and emotion regulation skills. At the end of day, I’ve simply never met a kid I don’t like or connect with.
In my work with families, I aim to de-stigmatize the experience of living with neurodivergence. As a person with a learning difference and ADHD, I have learned an immense amount about navigating barriers within the school system, finding allies and building a robust support system. I’ve also experienced the isolation of not fitting into a system that is only designed to help some people be successful. My goal in therapy is to help each child see, know and build on their strengths, while also accessing and accepting supports in their areas of need.