Hidden Gems: Meet Julie Brown of Align Psychotherapy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Brown.

Hi Julie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
As people often do, I explored a few different career paths before finally getting settling into the world of therapy. Ultimately I chose this path because my own experiences with pain had taught me the importance of reflection, intuition, agency, and making new meaning in order to grow from trauma. As a result, I came to hope (and believe!) that the world could become a bit better if more people were given the tools to meaningfully respond to pain.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Are any roads smooth?! I don’t think so, but my my, can we learn from the bumps. Years of school, jumping into therapy sessions as a beginner, and learning to sit with the profound pain of others, just to name a few! But there were larger challenges as well. I did my residency in Las Vegas working with the students of UNLV, and the Mandalay Bay mass shooting erupted just a few months in, leaving the city traumatized. Short-staffed and only a resident intern, I was thrown into the battle field of mass crisis support, which was a learning experience I’ll never forget. A few years later, right as I began to set up my own practice, COVID-19 came along, changing the way the whole world looked and operated. Along the way, every therapist had to quickly learn to hold space their own changing lives while also holding the fear and uncertainty of a changing world for their clients.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Align Psychotherapy?
Align is a therapy space built to help people orient their current circumstances toward the version of themselves they want to become. I have specialty training in the areas of trauma treatment and addiction recovery, and as a result, I built a practice focused on resiliency-building, nervous system regulation, and narrative-focused growth. I aim to tailor therapy to people’s individual needs and stories, standing as an ally and advocate to all who need it. As a singer and a creative outside of the therapy room, I appreciate creativity inside the therapy room as well. Sometimes you have to come up with alternate routes of getting a person to their goal in a way that makes sense to them. Through humor and collaboration, we create a safe therapeutic space together that makes room for humanity to be honestly examined, cracks and all.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
I’ve been so lucky to have had a support system of mentors and cheerleaders in every stage. My family who supported and encouraged me to continue with school, my classmates who made getting through classes and dissertation that much easier, my friends who kept me grounded, my post doc supervisor and friend Dr. Todd, and all the colleagues I’ve met on this journey– they’ve all served a unique role, each of them crucial.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://alignpsychotherapyla.com
• Instagram: juliebrownpsyd

Image Credits
Stacia Narasky