Get to Know Keysha Alston, LPCC-S (She|Her)

Website Coordinator| Clinical Counselor

Keysha Alston, she/her, is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Supervisor (LPCC-S) located at UC CAPS Calhoun. She is the Website Coordinator. She is a liaison to Veteran Program and Services (VPS) and Center for Student Involvement (CSI). She graduated from the University of West Florida with a master’s in psychology focused in counseling and is licensed to practice in Ohio and Kentucky. 

Keysha’s therapeutic approach is general and broad, based on the participant’s needs, but she is originally informed by Existential and Gestalt theories and has strong interests working with students who are working through self-harm, depression, relationship concerns (including friendships!), trauma, and exploring identity, using metaphor/expressive arts to dig deeper into thoughts/feelings. She hopes to support therapy participants by making space for them to explore how their positionality and intersectionality have informed/impacted who they are today, to identify possible generational trauma/harm, to name how larger systems have caused harm, and to assist clients in accessing their available power, community and resources for change. She actively brings awareness to the positions she holds and how this could impact the therapeutic relationship and the work. Keysha views herself as a witness first and then navigator-to-the-captain in the therapy participant’s journey toward understanding self and their connection with others and their communities. 

Keysha is a SoulCollage® Facilitator and a Certified Sex Therapy Informed Professional (CSTIP). She is currently diving into Liberation Psychology and decolonizing the therapy space.

When not at work, Keysha is out birding, engaged in her SoulCollage® practice, and being present with her young kiddo, often playing Mario Kart. Music is important to her, and her favorite bands are Sigur Ros and Ani DiFranco.

Something I like about myself: My sense of humor, my taste in music, and leaning into humility. 

Coping skills I recommend to clients that I actually use myself: Prioritizing sleep and holding myself accountable to sleep. When I don’t get good sleep, my mood shifts! I also take time to put my phone down and connect with my surroundings, whether that is with people or nature. And I often recommend folx consider saying “no” to things that no longer serve them, something I learned myself. 

Instagram accounts I follow for my mental health: @softcore_trauma, @pat.radical.therapist, @micheline.maalouf, @ijeomaoluo, @dr.han.ren, @counseling4allseasons, @theempoweredtherpist, @michellcclark, @millennial.therapist, @_lisaolivera, @dr.marielbuque, @minaa_b