Meet Dr. Alyssa Botte
Alyssa is the owner and founder of Blue River Counseling. She is a developmental psychologist specializing in adult development, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Indiana, and a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) in North Carolina. Alyssa's passion is working with individuals with trauma, CPTSD, dissociation, and dissociative identity disorders. Using attachment theory and spiritually-integrated psychotherapy, Alyssa's life goals are to help others experience safety, connection, purpose, and meaning regardless of their past experiences.
Alyssa also practices radical inclusivity and seeks to create safe spaces for LGBTQIA+ individuals and neurodivergent individuals in Shelbyville to receive mental health care.
Qualifications
Alyssa’s academic accomplishments consist of two bachelor’s degrees in Family Studies & Religion from Samford University (2013), a Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counselor from Wake Forest University (2017), and a PhD in Developmental Psychology from Capella University (2024). She is EMDR-certified, a Certified First Responder Counselor, a Qualified Supervisor, and has extensive training in ego state and internal systems work. In addition, she is an ordained Baptist and Disciples of Christ (Christian Church) minister and has served in various roles in congregations.
What Alyssa says about her clinical expertise and her ideal clients…
“My clinical passions often intersect and evolve out of my own personal life. When my then-husband began working as a law enforcement officer and a reserve Army Chaplain, I wanted to expand my work to assist first responders, law enforcement, and the military with the acute trauma and ongoing stressors they and their families experience as part of their job. No one truly understands what rotating shifts, internal department politics, and being chronically underpaid and underappreciated can do to an individual until they begin experiencing it firsthand.
Similarly, when I had my first child and struggled to adjust to working motherhood, or had tragic experiences of pregnancy losses and secondary infertility, I experienced both prenatal and postpartum grief. This led me to deepen my training in counseling for women’s issues, such as perinatal/postpartum mental health disorders, the profound trauma that infertility creates, or the deep parental grief that parents may experience with child loss.
Growing up in a high-demand religion, I experienced how spiritual and religious abuse can be deeply damaging to self-esteem and personal identity. And yet, I’ve also witnessed how spirituality and faith communities can be the greatest asset and joy in others’ healing journey. Whether your goal is to cope with leaving a cult, to grow in your own personal understanding of faith, or to have a completely agnostic counseling experience, I am passionate about using and adapting different spiritual practices and beliefs to helping people on their healing journey.”