01 · Who Alesia works with

Alesia works with addictions, relationship issues and family conflicts

Alesia lists 10 specialisms and 28 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Alesia chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Alesia's own words

What Alesia says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

I am a professional counselor licensed in Pennsylvania. My counseling experience has been in a general practice with relationship, mood, parenting, and communication struggles and also in a practice dedicated to working with adults dealing with sexual addiction, pornography addiction, and relationship issues with roots in sexual abuse. I have also counseled teenage boys in a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility.

I did not start out with a career in counseling. I have a degree in industrial engineering from Georgia Tech. I married another engineer, worked a little while, raised children, and when they were in the process of leaving the home, I decided to pursue counseling. I acquired my MA in Marriage and Family Counseling from Lancaster Bible College and have been counseling for over 20 years.

I believe that our past is not as important as the thoughts and decisions we make today. My approach embraces solution-focused therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and client centered therapy. I believe that everyone's life history has taught them valuable lessons. It is my honor and privilege to help my clients develop these lessons into functional, effective, and beneficial thoughts and behaviors.

Alesia Dunlap, on the BetterHelp listing · read 7 Nov 2026

03 · How Alesia works

The 6 approaches Alesia lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Alesia lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Alesia's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Alesia runs a session.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian

The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.

Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT

Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and ReprocessingEMDR

A structured trauma protocol in which you hold a distressing memory in mind while following a repeated side-to-side cue. The mechanism is still debated; the outcome data in post-traumatic stress is strong enough that it appears in national treatment guidelines.

Motivational InterviewingMI

A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.

Narrative Therapy

Treats the story you tell about your life as something that can be examined and retold rather than as the plain facts. Separates the person from the problem - “the anxiety” rather than “your anxiety” - to make room for the parts the current story leaves out.

Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT

Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Alesia practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Alesia's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Alesia at this point.

2. Naming Alesia specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Alesia is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Alesia.

3. If the caseload is full

   You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

4. The first conversation

   A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

5. If the fit is wrong

   Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

4 questions worth asking Alesia

Built from what Alesia actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Alesia's - Alesia has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Client-Centred Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

  Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

• “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

  Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

• “With 20 years in, what has changed most in how you work?”

  Long experience is only an advantage if it has been examined. This tends to surface whether it has.

• “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

  On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LPC

Licensed in

Pennsylvania

Licence

PA LPC PC012804

Licence number

PC012804

Licence expires

28 Feb 2027

NPI

1851989297

Years in practice

20

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Alesia's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 7 Nov 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Alesia. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.