I know what it's like to be the one who holds everything together.

And I know what it costs.

I didn't build AK Alignment & Growth because women needed more information.

I built it because I kept meeting women who understood exactly why they over-gave... yet still couldn't stop.

They could explain attachment.

They could identify people-pleasing.

They could name the patterns.

But insight alone wasn't changing what their nervous system had learned.

That's why this exists.

Hi - I’m Alyssa! I’m a licensed therapist, educator, and the person behind both AK Psychotherapy and AK Alignment & Growth.

My therapy practice is where I continue working with women one-on-one. AK Alignment & Growth is where I turn those same clinical insights into education, tools, and community.

This site is something different.

AK Alignment & Growth exists because I kept watching women understand their patterns intellectually - and still not be able to change them. Because insight alone doesn't update a nervous system. Because the women who needed this work the most weren't always in a position to access weekly therapy.

So I built the next best thing: education that's grounded in the same clinical frameworks I use in my practice, in formats that meet you where you actually are.

Who this is for

This is for the woman who:

  • Has been the reliable one for so long she's not sure who she is without the role

  • Says yes on autopilot and feels resentment she can't explain

  • Can't fully relax until she's confirmed everyone around her is okay

  • Knows something has to change but doesn't know where to start

  • Has done some therapy, some reading, some journaling - and still feels stuck in the same patterns

You don't have to hit rock bottom to be here.
You just have to be tired enough to want something different.

Maybe nobody has ever said it like this...

You're the woman who...

  • Texts back immediately even when she's exhausted.

  • The one who over-explains a boundary she shouldn't have to justify.

  • The one who can't enjoy a vacation because she's still monitoring everyone else's mood.

  • The one who says "I'm fine" so automatically she's not even sure if it's true anymore.

The one who is so, so good at taking care of everyone else - and has no idea what it would even feel like to take care of herself first.

If that's you: you're in the right place. And you don't have to have it all figured out to start.

My work is built around three ideas.

Notice.

Learn how your nervous system became so good at scanning everyone else's emotions.

Understand.

Discover why caring slowly became carrying.

Practice.

Build new ways of responding so your body - not just your mind - learns that everyone else's emotions aren't yours to manage.

My approach is informed by…

• IFS

• EMDR-informed

• Somatic approaches

• Attachment theory

Credentials + Press

Alyssa Kushner, LCSW Licensed in New York, New Jersey, Washington D.C., and Maryland Featured in: The Knot, Forbes, Everyday Health, VeryWell Mind, Scary Mommy, Vogue, etc

I'm based in New York City. I'm licensed in NY, NJ, DC, and Maryland. I take this work seriously and I'm also not going to talk to you like a textbook.

You can find me on Instagram at @alyssaktherapy, where I post about this stuff regularly.

And if you're looking for actual therapy - not just education and a community -  you can find that at ak-psychotherapy.com.

What I hope you leave with...

I hope this becomes the place you come back to whenever you forget that you don't have to earn your worth by carrying everyone else.

You deserve a life that feels like yours.