Q and A with Alisa Horn, NCC, CRC
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As a professional cellist and tLPC-MHSP, Alisa believes in the unbelievable healing power of music and expressive arts therapy for all. As a certified rehabilitation counselor, Alisa believes in helping people with disabilities, whether mental, physical, or invisible to meet their full potential. She is able to help PWD with a variety of needs, including vocational rehabilitation counseling, career counseling, and adjustment to life with chronic illness. She views each client holistically and treats everyone with empathy, respect, humor, and compassion.
Alisa works with clients of all backgrounds and mental health diagnoses. She has experience with co-occurring disorders, substance use disorders, development disability, intellectual disability, re-entry post-incarceration, supported employment for veterans, and using music therapy for a variety of mental health diagnoses such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Alisa is trained in EMDR therapy while other approaches include strengths-based therapy, music/expressive arts, Interpersonal Social Rhythm therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, solution-focused brief therapy, animal-assisted therapy, dialectical-behavior therapy, and cognitive behavior therapy.
Alisa is a native Midtown Memphian, but worked as a professional cellist in the New York City area for 15 years, mostly performing in Broadway shows. Since returning to Memphis, Alisa is thrilled to finally fulfill her dream of combining music and mental health to help people in the Memphis community.
Let us delve deeper for an exclusive Q&A session into what Alisa has to offer her clients.
1.What are the top benefits of seeing a therapist or counselor?
As people, it can often feel much easier to feel kindness and empathy toward others, but not towards ourselves. I believe that through therapy or counseling, an individual is able to focus on and explore his or her own feelings and thoughts, which can be truly life-changing. It is often impossible to appreciate ourselves and what we have to offer in this world, but counseling can open our eyes and expand our understanding of ourselves and others.
2. What made you choose to work in the mental health field?
I was born into a medical family, which has always influenced my feelings about medicine, science, and helping others. I began to play the cello at age 4 and was lucky enough to be able to pursue music in school and as a career. However, throughout my life as a professional musician, I have always felt a void in my heart and a pull to help others. I began to pursue my studies in music therapy, which led to my becoming a clinical rehabilitation counselor, and I am thrilled to be able to combine mental health with music.
3. What types of clients do you typically work with, and what kind of issues or challenges do you specialize in addressing?
So far in my career, I have been fortunate enough to work with a variety of people, including young adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities, incarcerated individuals with co-occurring disorders, and veterans with severe mental illness. As a clinical rehabilitation counselor, I am able to help people with chronic illnesses or disabilities through psychotherapy, case management, or vocational rehabilitation. Rehabilitation counselors are often called “disability counselors” as we use our skills to help individuals with intellectual, physical, and psychological disabilities remain self-sufficient and live the best life possible.
4. Could you tell us more about your background and experiences, especially those that have influenced your approach to therapy?
In 2016, while living in New York City as a professional cellist, I was shocked with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. I have been living for years with chronic migraines and a host of other vague and frustrating symptoms that have not affected my motor skills and, fortunately, have spared my hands. I was lucky to find an incredible physician who immediately prescribed medication that has kept my brain mostly free of new lesions. My experiences as a patient and an MSer (as we call ourselves) have impacted my life in too many ways to count, including the decision to leave New York City after 15 years and return to Memphis. I already knew that I wanted to be a therapist, but once I learned about the field of rehabilitation counseling, I realized that I wanted to learn how to help others who find themselves in a similar situation. Life is already so challenging that having a disability or chronic illness can feel completely overwhelming and impossible to manage. I want to help others discover (or re-discover) their strengths and abilities while also learning how to adapt to challenges and cope with everyday life.
5. How do you tailor your therapeutic approach to meet the unique needs and goals of each client?
Each client who steps foot in my office or enters my Zoom room will always be treated holistically and individually. I think it is less about tailoring my approach than utilizing the full range of my scope of knowledge to address each individual’s needs and goals.
6. Are there specific therapy modalities or techniques you find particularly effective or that clients might encounter in your sessions?
As a rehabilitation counselor, I want to empower those who are having trouble feeling their power and resilience, so I find that strengths-based and solution-focused techniques are particularly effective.
7. Can you explain the role of music and expressive arts therapy in your work and how they benefit clients in their healing journey?
Throughout my life as a cellist, I have often and almost always been told that my playing and the cello sound itself are extremely soothing—most often, people say that the cello sounds like the human voice. I have witnessed the healing power of the cello and music in many settings, but two of the most profound were in a memory center for individuals with dementia and when I performed for victims of Hurricane Sandy who had lost their homes. Both of those experiences served to prove how just listening to a Bach cello suite or dancing to an old standard can promote improvement in symptoms and overall wellness. Music is a special wordless language that, for some people, maybe the only way to heal.
8. What are some common misconceptions or questions that clients often have about therapy, and how do you address them?
There are so many questions and misconceptions about therapy, and I try to address them as honestly and openly as possible. I have found that many people believe that all therapists do the same thing—psychotherapy, or even more specifically, that we are all Freudian psychotherapists. I think it is important to educate people about all of the modalities and techniques available to address their specific needs, so I am extremely grateful to be joining the diverse providers on this integrative care team at Forward Counseling.
9. For individuals with disabilities, what specialized support or guidance can they expect in your sessions?
As a rehabilitation counselor, I am able to offer specialized support for those with disabilities and chronic illnesses in many different ways. Some of the common issues that I address are related to life transitions, adapting to life with a new disability, or realizing full potential after a lifetime of having a disability. I am a certified rehabilitation counselor, which means that I am able to provide assistance with employment, benefits, and accommodations, in addition to many other areas. I will strive to understand each person and their unique disability or disabilities.
10. What are some of the potential benefits and outcomes that clients can experience through therapy with you?
I hope to provide a soothing and healing environment for all of my clients. I want each person to leave my sessions feeling better than when we started talking. I want each person to leave my sessions with a little bit more compassion for themselves and others.
11. What message or advice would you like to share with prospective clients who are considering therapy or counseling with you at Forward Counseling?
Therapy can be fun—let’s do this!
