Therapy that makes a difference.
Alyssa Baker MSW, LICSW
I believe you deserve care that makes a meaningful difference in your life—not just another set of tools to help you manage what's difficult.
My work with women is rooted in the belief that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with you. The patterns, symptoms, and ways of coping that may be creating difficulty in your life often developed for a reason. At some point, they helped you navigate something, protect yourself, belong, or get through.
The problem is that what once helped us survive may not continue to serve us as our lives change. Therapy gives us an opportunity to become curious about those patterns rather than judging or fighting them. Together, we can explore where they came from, how they continue to show up in your life, and what you might want to do differently.
I call the women I work with Cycle Breakers because they are willing to look honestly at the patterns that have shaped their lives and consider what they want to carry forward—and what they want to leave behind. Cycle breaking can mean many things.
It might mean learning to relate to yourself differently than you were taught. It might mean changing patterns in your relationships, parenting differently than you were parented, or creating a life that isn't defined by the expectations or limitations you grew up with. It can also mean learning to recognize what happens inside of you when you're overwhelmed, disconnected, anxious, or stuck—and developing new ways of responding.
This work builds courage. And you don't have to do it perfectly.
My role is to create a space where you can slow down, feel supported without judgment, and become more deeply acquainted with yourself. I will be curious alongside you, ask the questions that may be difficult to ask on your own, and help you notice the patterns that may be difficult to see from inside of them.
I believe you already have important strengths, wisdom, and capacity within you. Therapy isn't about becoming someone entirely different. It's about creating enough safety and awareness to access more of who you already are.
Your mind and body are part of the same story.
My understanding of therapy has continued to evolve throughout my years as a clinician. I began my career with a strong interest in health and wellness and have continued to explore the ways our experiences shape both our inner world and our physical experience of life. Today, I approach therapy with an awareness of the psychosomatic connection—the ongoing relationship between our thoughts, emotions, nervous system, and body.
Sometimes we understand something intellectually but still find ourselves responding in the same familiar way. We know we're safe, but our body doesn't seem to believe it. We know we don't need to please everyone, but we still find ourselves saying yes when we mean no. We understand where a pattern came from, but knowing isn't always enough to change it. This is where somatic work can offer another doorway into healing.
Through mindful awareness, breath, movement, and attention to what is happening within the body, we can begin to notice patterns that aren't always accessible through words alone. Somatic practices can create opportunities to slow down, develop greater awareness, and experiment with new ways of responding.
My advanced training in somatic yoga has deepened this part of my work and expanded the ways I can support clients in reconnecting with their bodies as a source of information, awareness, and support.
A personalized approach to therapy.
There isn't one therapeutic approach that works for everyone. I draw from a variety of evidence-informed therapeutic approaches and tailor our work to you, your experiences, and what you are hoping to change.
My work is informed by:
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
I use an IFS-informed perspective to help you develop curiosity and compassion toward the different parts of yourself, including the parts that may be carrying fear, anxiety, shame, perfectionism, or other protective patterns.
Somatic & Body-Based Practices
I incorporate somatic awareness, mindfulness, breath, and movement to support greater connection between mind and body.
Person-Centered & Strengths-Based Therapy
I believe you are the expert on your own experience. My role is not to tell you who you should be, but to provide support, perspective, curiosity, and tools as you discover what is right for you.
Regardless of the modality we use, my work is grounded in trauma-informed care, self-compassion, and respect for the dignity and worth of every person.
Why I do this work.
I have spent my entire career working in roles dedicated to helping women grow, heal, and step into their lives more fully—from health and wellness to community mental health, higher education, and now private practice. Each of those experiences has shaped the clinician I am today.
I am especially passionate about helping women navigate the space between all of the roles and responsibilities they carry and the relationship they have with themselves. I'm also deeply interested in the parent-child relationship and the ways our own histories can influence how we show up in our relationships with our children.
I believe that when we become more aware of the wounds and patterns we carry, we have an opportunity to make different choices. We may not be able to change what happened to us, but we can become more intentional about what we pass forward. That is what cycle breaking means to me.
It is not about doing everything perfectly.
It is about becoming aware.
It is about creating choice.
It is about practicing something different.
And it is about having the courage to create a life that feels like your own.
When I am not working…
You will find me outside. I might be walking my dog, Millie, a Boykin spaniel. I might be working in my flower beds, out on the water, or in a sauna. You might find me reading, drinking tea, or laying on the floor doing my favorite gentle, somatic movements. You would definitely find me with one of my three boys, probably at one of their beloved extra-curricular activities. I am teaching myself guitar, tending to myself in whatever way I can, and soaking in the beauty of the present moment whenever possible.
Why Collective Remedy?
I believe each of us is made up of many parts, experiences, roles, relationships, strengths, wounds, and stories.
Healing doesn't require us to reject the parts of ourselves we don't like.
Instead, it can begin with becoming curious about all of them.
The work we do together is an opportunity to reconnect with your collective self—to better understand the pieces of you that have helped you become who you are, to develop compassion for the parts that have been working hard to protect you, and to create more choice in how you move through the world.
That, to me, is the Collective Remedy.
A way back to yourself.
Education, Licensure, and Training
Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science
Minnesota State University, 2011
Master of Social Work
Minnesota State University, 2018
Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW)
Minnesota Board of Social Work, 2021
Mayo Clinic Health and Wellness Coach Certification — 2011
Internal Family Systems
Training in Complex Trauma with Dr. Frank Anderson, IFSI Online Circle Program, IFS Immersion, and Annual IFSI Virtual Conference
Somatic Yoga Teacher Training — 2024 and 2026
In-depth 500-hour yoga therapy training through International SomaYoga Institute, training under Ann Maxwell and Molly McManus of Yoga North
