Alexa Ciangiulli
One of the greatest privileges of this work is bearing witness to the reemergence of the parts of self that once felt lost and have been rediscovered.
Alexa helps individuals and couples work through a range of difficulties, including sex and intimacy challenges, life transitions, identity development and communication breakdowns. She values open and thoughtful exploration of intimacy, sexual and emotional needs, and the often complicated intersection of love and aggression that can emerge within close relationships. Alexa also has experience working with complex trauma, including layers of childhood abuse and lifelong traumatic experiences that may not have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Her work attends to the ways trauma and abuse can shape one’s sense of self, relationships, capacity for trust, and beliefs about worth and safety.
As we move through the world, we carry with us individual histories, attachment patterns, and unspoken ways of protecting ourselves that shape how we relate to others. While these patterns may have once helped us adapt, they can make us feel disconnected from those we love and leave us in a cycle of distance, silence, misunderstanding, or longing for closeness that feels difficult to reach. Alexa is particularly attuned to understanding the role of shame and how painful experiences can become internalized and carried into romantic relationships. Through the integration of psychoanalytic psychotherapy and emotion-focused approaches, Alexa guides individuals and couples toward healing and more authentic and adaptive ways of relating to the people they love.
Alexa brings a calm, emotionally present energy to the therapy space, offering clients the chance to slow down, reflect, and make sense of emerging dynamics together. She is guided by a sincere desire to understand her clients’ inner worlds and relational experiences with depth and care. Alexa works collaboratively with individuals and couples to develop deeper awareness of the emotional and psychological barriers, protective patterns, and unspoken fears that can interfere with intimacy, vulnerability, and connection.
- I live by the philosophy that
- healing is not meant to occur in isolation, but through genuine connection with others.
- I could spend every day
- sharing meaningful moments and playfulness with friends and loved ones.
- As a therapist, I
- understand that no one moves through life untouched by pain and conflict, yet all people hold the capacity for self-reflection and the courage to look inward where change can begin.
Credentials
- M.A. Clinical Psychology, Widener University
- B.A., Montclair State University
Relevant Training
- Gottman Method Couples Therapy (Levels 1 and 2)
- Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT)
Specialties
- Trauma/PTSD
- Intimacy After Sexual Trauma
- Narcissistic Abuse Recovery
- Identity Exploration
- Negotiating Low or Mismatched Sexual Desire
- Seeking love and intimacy
- Psychosis
- Severe Mental Illness
Modalities
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp)
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Gottman Method Couples Therapy
- Jungian Sandplay Therapy (SPT)
- Person-Centered (Rogerian) Therapy
- Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
- Psychodynamic Couples Therapy
- Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy (CT-R)
