Practitioner record · Checked 9 Oct 2026
Leah Alviar has been in practice 22 years and is licensed in Texas. Leah lists stress, Anxiety, relationship issues and self esteem among 22 subjects on the BetterHelp roster.
Everything below is either quoted from Leah's own BetterHelp listing, taken from public licensing records, or written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such. Nothing here is an availability promise, a review, or a rating.
01 · Who Leah works with
Leah lists 10 specialisms and 12 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Leah chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.
02 · In Leah's own words
Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.
My name is Leah Alviar and I would like to share a little bit about myself with you. Degrees, Certifications, and Professional Experience: Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in Organizational Leadership from the University of the Incarnate Word M.A. in Counseling from the University of Texas at San Antonio B.S. in Generic Special Education from Our Lady of the Lake University. I am both a Licensed Professional Counselor and certified professional school counselor with over 22 years of counseling experience. I have held leadership roles in local, regional, and state counseling organizations, am a published author, present at local, state, and national conferences and served as editor for Ph.D. student dissertations. Currently I am a Senior Director at the University of the Incarnate Word and teach graduate counseling courses as well as undergraduate prep courses at various universities. I previously served as the Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, an instructional designer, adjunct professor for the M.A. in Counseling program, Director of Field Experience, and assistant professor of education at OLLU, as well as professional school counselor in various ISDs in San Antonio. I have over 15 years’ experience teaching university students in both the online and face-to-face environments and have authored courses and taught classes at the undergraduate and graduate level for over 17 years.
Theoretical Perspective: Over the course of my counseling career, I have worked with people who were anxious, depressed, stressed, and simply burned out; I have helped adolescents and couples who have struggled with communication issues and relationship barriers; I have worked with families regarding parenting, abuse, grief, and death; and I have helped individuals with career planning, self-esteem building, goal setting, and wellness strategies to cope with major life changes. Throughout my work, I have used many techniques and applied multiple theories, as each person is as unique as the theories and techniques. I am solution-focused and client-centered. I feel the counselor serves as the guide and facilitator for the clients as they move through their journey. I use a humanistic approach to counseling, but also integrate cognitive behavior therapy techniques as deemed appropriate. I adapt my counseling strategies to meet the needs of the client.
A Little About Me: I have been happily married to my high school sweetheart for almost 25 years and together we have three amazing sons. We enjoy fishing, being outdoors, reading, traveling, and catching the latest movie together as a family. When practicing self-care, I enjoy ultrarunning, reading, skydiving and quilting.
Leah Alviar, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026
03 · How Leah works
These are the clinical methods Leah lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Leah'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 Leah runs a session.
04 · What happens next
Leah 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 Leah's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.
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 Leah at this point.
BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Leah 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 Leah.
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.
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.
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
Built from what Leah actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Leah's - Leah 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 22 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
07 · Provenance
Leah'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 9 Oct 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 Leah. 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.
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