ALISARA (ALLY) CHRISTENSEN (she/her)
Intern
Ally believes the therapeutic space is one where clients can come to process their lived experiences openly to better understand themselves and develop the tools and skills to help them move through their difficulties and pain.
“Like all relationships, my approach in therapy is to lead with curiosity and compassion to collaboratively work with my clients to unpack and understand how their upbringing, background, and salient identities are all a part of their narrative,” she says.
As a biracial and queer therapist, Ally offers a welcoming space for clients to unpack the questions, concerns, and difficulties they continue to face in their life.
Born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand, Ally spent her school-age years attending an international school. After graduating from a liberal arts college in Minnesota, she served in AmeriCorps for a year implementing intervention plans for at-risk and underserved students in public schools in Minnesota.
With a strong interest in education, she returned to Thailand, where she spent three years working in global education designing curricula and managing international school programs across Southeast Asia. Some of the programs and trainings Ally designed and ran for international schools incorporated topics of leadership, service-learning, field education, intersectionality and identity, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Ally developed a niche interest in developing psychoeducational/social-emotional curricula that better supports both educators and students, enhancing social-emotional well-being, student learning experiences, and the overall emotional development for youth.
Her decision to become a licensed therapist was driven by her hopes to continue exploring the intersection of psychotherapy and education.
Ally is currently pursuing her M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (Child and Adolescent Track) at the Family Institute at Northwestern University and has an interest in trauma, identity development, life transitions, and family and relationship dynamics.