Hello and welcome to Stronger Together Community Services!
I’m Allison Brownlee and I founded STCS in 2020, I am a licensed marriage and family therapist and earned my doctorate in couples and family therapy in 2015. I am currently the clinical director at STCS which means I oversee all of the therapy programs and supervise the therapists here. I specialize in working with those in relationships, including couples and families. I practice from evidence based models: EFT, AEDP, and EMDR, all of which are trauma informed and attachment focused. Essentially what this means for my clients is that we work collaboratively to determine treatment goals, I use interventions that address the underlying feelings and trauma that may be contributing to current distress, we find adaptive ways to express emotions and find relief in experiencing one’s full self and then build security in the bonds with important others around them. You can learn more about these models of therapy on our FAQ page.
Reducing the power differential between therapist and client is essential to my work. I truly believe that we are all in this together and have our own unique strengths and insights we can draw from. My clients have wisdom and the capacity to heal, within them, and I have the privilege of supporting the process of growth. A key aspect of my work is facilitating the STCS Empowerment Weekends Retreats, here clients are able to see therapists in their natural environment and connect to us in an authentic way. The activities we host, we also engage in, so as our clients are overcoming fears on a paddleboard, so are we! These weekends are an embodiment of the mission and vision of STCS, to grow in community, to undo aloneness, and to experience a reduction in power dynamics in the therapy process.
At Stronger Together Community Services, I serve as the clinical director and supervisor to our graduate and post graduate masters and doctoral level therapists. I am dedicated to providing the clinical team at STCS with training and education that is tailored to their specific needs and addresses their learning edges. I facilitate individual and group supervision where I review session recordings, provide live supervision in therapy sessions, and engage in co-therapy with our team members. This three prong approach to supervision allows clinicians to learn and grow in a supportive environment- we truly are stronger together, we do not learn in isolation at STCS, our staff know that they can lean on their supervisor without judgment when they are struggling. I am so proud of our team and the way they engage in the learning process, their vulnerability and openness to feedback supports optimal growth and allows them to be effective therapists to their clients.
I love the work I do and the community we are building at STCS! I hope to spread the passion I have for reducing the barriers to mental health care, growing in connection with others and reducing the isolation that much of us face in our society.
In my free time you’ll find me outdoors at the beach learning to surf, hanging out at home with my cats, or feeding squirrels in our local parks in San Diego. I love to spend time with the staff and often host team building events like: trips to the aquarium, ceramic painting, unity circles, and staff dinners. I truly find joy being with the STCS community in many aspects of my life and am honored that our team connects outside of the workspace and has genuine relationships with one another that extend across their employment.
About STCS
I founded STCS because I believe that quality mental health care needs to be a more accessible service, especially to our communities experiencing financial oppression. When I thought about how an organization can provide such care I knew that accountability must be at the forefront of the agency mission and vision. The STCS Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Boards and the “DEI first” ethos we practice from allow us to prioritize our values. DEI at STCS is not a band aid or a solution to a business problem, DEI is the at the heart of STCS and influences every decision we make, form we create, and program we build. For incoming clients and staff, please know that the forms, policies and procedures, and the programs we operate at STCS have been created and reviewed by many people on the DEI boards and have been carefully crafted to promote our person centered values at STCS. Please check out our DEI Boards to learn more about how we practice our mission and are building our vision at STCS: https://strongertogethersd.org/dei-advisory-board/
