2023 Health Care Champions Health Care Professional: Valerie Alfano

An outpatient therapist for Burrell Behavioral Health, Valerie Alfano says she sees her role as assisting families, couples and individuals – ranging in age from 7 to 84 – in overcoming barriers and trauma as they work toward hope and healing.

“Challenges are great, and many families find themselves in crisis as the world has changed dramatically in the past few years,” she says. “Rising to meet the need calls for creativity and compassion.”

She says listening is at the core of her work.

“Clients have unique longings and past abuse that is specific, so listening – then advocating – is key,” she says.

The first area to work on may be practical stabilization, she says, as some clients are homeless or experiencing financial need to the extent that it outweighs their emotional need. Others are in unsafe situations that must be resolved immediately.

“Before we can work to understand the past, we need to stabilize the present,” she says. “Meeting the basics seems simple yet can be complex as one weaves through the difficulties clients face and helps them to feel safe enough to address past issues.”

She notes all clients are different, and so it is necessary to vary her approach and treatment methods to meet the needs of each one, whether those are physical, emotional or spiritual.

“This may include doing artwork or music therapy with a distressed teen or understanding how hobbies can become coping skills with older adults,” she says.

Alfano has been working to offer more group therapy opportunities to help address a wait list for care.

“My professional motivation is to find as many avenues to healing as possible,” she says. “No two clients are alike, and some do not respond to the first treatment modality introduced.”

Alfano is certified in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, and she is enrolled in her first semester in the Doctor of Strategic Leadership degree program at Evangel University.

“I feel this program will help build my understanding of leadership and change, as well as help me rethink assumptions and become open to new ideas,” she says.

Alfano’s end goal is to meet the growing need for mental health care services.

“The need for an increase in mental health resources across the Ozarks – as well as our nation – continues as Burrell, one community health agency, receives well over 100 new requests for help each week,” she says.

While she has worked in a variety of health care roles in the past, from a rehabilitation hospital and home health and hospice to acute hospital care, she notes her role as an outpatient therapist feels like the right place for her to meet those needs.

“Providing the best care possible and a safe place for clients to work through trauma, as well as using creative elements for clients to work through challenges, has brought many to resource their strength and heal,” she says.