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 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 grounded by Existential and Gestalt theories and incorporates person-centered, trauma-informed, and Liberation Psychology praxis into her approach. She has strong interests working with students who are working through self-harm, depression, relationship concerns (including friendships!), trauma, and exploring identity formation, using metaphor/expressive arts to dig deeper into thoughts/feelings. 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. She is learning more about Internal Family Systems approaches.
When not at work, Keysha is out birding and engaged in her SoulCollage® practice. Music is important to her; her favorite band is Sigur Ros and her newest music obsession is Fontaines D.C.
Why I became a counselor: To bear witness to pain and experiences that individuals are too worried to share with others, for whatever reason. We all have wisdom within us and sometimes need help bringing it into our awareness.
Something I like about myself: My sense of humor, holding space for despair and joy, and holding myself accountable to others and my values/work.
Coping skills I recommend to clients that I actually use myself: Prioritizing sleep and taking care of my physical spaces. When I don't hold myself accountable for managing my sleep or my home spaces are messy, my mood shifts and I can tell. I self-compassionately redirect my actions and usually feel less frazzled once I have picked up things and gotten myself to bed on time.
*** Bonus radical self-care: I challenge self-blame/perfectionism and zoom out, noticing how
external systems are actually at the center of my stress/pain.