Alayna McGarty
she/her
Member of the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions
CLINICAL EXPERTISE
Suicidality
Self-harm
Depression
Eating disorders
Transitioning out of RTC’s
Other self-destructive behaviors triggered by emotion dysregulation
Borderline personality disorder
Trauma and PTSD
DBT, CBT, and exposure therapies
Alayna specializes in providing Dialectical Behavior Therapy to her patients, along with a wide spectrum of therapeutic services. Alayna’s therapeutic style mimics the core dialectic that runs throughout the DBT framework: acceptance and change. She is direct and transparent, and at the same time is dedicated to creating a warm, compassionate and collaborative therapeutic space. Alayna believes strongly that a secure therapeutic alliance is imperative for effective therapy to take place, and that this is built on a clear understanding of goals and an agreed upon treatment plan. Alayna provides individual therapy, group therapy, parent guidance, consultation and supervision.
Alayna earned her master’s degree from Boston College’s Lynch School of Education in Mental Health Counseling in 2013. She committed herself early in her career to studying and implementing evidence-based treatments with an intense focus on DBT. She participated in specialized training at McLean Hospital’s world renown 3East DBT Continuum, supervised by Dr. Michael Hollander; the Laboratory for the Study of Adult Development, supervised by Dr. Mary Zanarini, who is a leading expert in BPD; at McLean-Franciscan Children’s Hospitals Inpatient Psychiatric Unit and at Triad Adolescent Services. While in these positions, she attended Behavioral Tech intensive trainings led by treatment developer Dr. Melanie Harned in both DBT and DBT+PE protocol.
She established her private practice in 2015 in Wellesley, MA where she provided innovative individual therapy, group therapy, and clinical consultations. She is frequently sought after for her expertise in the field. This has included teaching a graduate-level course in DBT at Suffolk University, taking on the role of a Mentor for MaMHCA and speaking at various forums at Boston College, the Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transitions program, and the Quell Foundation. She recently was appointed by Governor Maura Healey as a Board Member to the Allied Board of Mental Health and Human Services Professions.
