As the VP of Operations, Birmingham and Virtual, Jessica Harris joined Alsana because of their guiding principles and reputation for providing quality clinical care. She graduated from the University of California, Davis with a Bachelor of Art in Psychology and a minor in Child Development. She obtained her Masters in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. Over the past 11 years, she has experience working with adolescents and adults of all genders and their loved ones at all levels of care including (inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient.) Previous to joining the Alsana team, Jessica opened residential and outpatient eating disorder programs across the nation and oversaw the operations of 11 programs in Washington, Oregon, and California.

Jessica loves to cook and try new restaurants, in her spare time she also loves to be outdoors exploring new hikes in the Los Angeles region and reading!

Kimberly Wynn is the Virtual PHP/IOP Program Coordinator for Alsana.

Kim is passionate about helping individuals who seek recovery get and stay well!  She meets individuals where they’re at in their journeys and walks with them to reach their goals.

I am a licensed professional counselor with extensive experience in the treatment of eating disorders, trauma, dissociative disorders, substance-related and addictive disorders. I have treated complex issues at the inpatient, residential, PHP, and IOP levels of care. I have worked as a primary therapist, clinical director, curriculum developer for the treatment of binge and emotional eating, and lead therapist. I take a values-based approach to remind humans they can be free from the constraints of negative self-talk and learn to live authentically. I incorporate somatic experiencing, DBT, CBT, ACT, EMDR, and mindfulness, to help clients gain access to their own capacity to heal and cope. My work is focused on a client-centered framework with the goal of co-creating a supportive container for healing and self-exploration. I use compassion-focused therapy and humor to help clients navigate the complex issues that have manifested in their eating disorders.

Caitlyn earned her Master’s degree in Social Work from Saint Louis University in 2020, and is currently practicing as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). Caitlyn is currently licensed in Missouri, Illinois, Florida, Texas, Alabama, Colorado, South Carolina, and Arizona and is pursing licensure in Georgia and Tennessee. 

Caitlyn worked directly with children/teens/adults in the greater St. Louis area for over 5 years, providing support to adolescents and families who sought support with mental health concerns. Caitlyn worked with middle schoolers and high schoolers in St. Louis charter schools providing mental health services in 2019, and then began her ventures into the world of eating disorders after beginning work for Alsana at the residential eating disorder level in 2020. Caitlyn shifted to virtual services within Alsana in 2024 after leaving St. Louis to return to her home state of Wyoming.

Caitlyn is a former graduate of Torrington High School, in Torrington, Wyoming and feels passionate that rural areas need more support and resources to address the mental health crisis. She believes that mental health care and spiritual connection can be integrated as a whole to support someone in their darkest of times. She believes that when providing a space to discuss mental health issues, we as humans we are more likely to find deeper ways to connect to self, understand our experiences, and experience life in a compassionate and healing way.

Kristen is an Associate Clinical Social Worker specializing in the treatment of eating disorders from a person-first, strengths-based perspective. With over 10 years in social services, she brings with her a wealth of experiences contributing to her work as a therapist. Kristen has devoted the last five years of her career to gaining experience in the field of eating disorders working at some of the most prominent clinics in the Los Angeles area.

Kristen operates from a values-based approach to help clients guide themselves towards a life that is free from cognitive dissonance and more centered around their authentic selves. She has expertise in treating comorbid trauma and substance use disorders. Kristen is trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and uses this therapy and other trauma-informed approaches such as TF-CBT and a narrative approach to work towards detangling unhelpful or problematic cognitive patterns.

She also incorporates mindfulness, somatic work, and DBT to help patients access their own internal capacity to regulate and cope. Kristen understands the nuanced process that is required in the treatment of eating disorders. Working from a holistic, person-in-environment approach helps her to guide clients in their own process of self-determination. She believes that the value of the therapeutic alliance, working in harmony and compassion, inspires healing for those who are recovering. The goal, then, is that clients develop a sense of their own autonomy, individuality, and authentically empowered self.

As a primary therapist, Sam is responsible for meeting with clients individually, in groups, and with family or supportive others to help them navigate the emotional/mental/physical aspects of eating disorder recovery. Sam earned their master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from California State University, Northridge in 2018. After graduation, Sam began working as a group therapist and direct care staff with Alsana at their Santa Barbara location in 2019 and gradually worked up to being a primary therapist first at Santa Barbara and then with the Alsana Connect virtual team.

Sam is passionate about helping clients to challenge societal beauty and body standards through HAES (health at every size) and CFT (compassion focused therapy) principles. Sam also feels passionate about her work with queer identifying and neurodivergent clients and helping them to understand the connection between these identities and their experience in their eating disorder.

In her free time, Sam enjoys spending time with her Corgi (Barbie) and cat (Sirius), watching Bravo reality tv, reading fiction, and going to pinball arcades with her husband. Sam’s greatest hope for clients’ recovery is for them to find compassion for ALL parts of themselves and free themselves from the burden of diet culture and the “weight” (pun intended) of societal expectations.

Lauren started with Alsana in September of 2023 after graduating from UAB’s counseling program. Prior to working with clients with eating disorders, Lauren held a position as a therapeutic intern at a residential addiction facility in Birmingham for almost 2 years.

Lauren’s goal has always been to work with clients with eating disorders, as she herself is in recovery from one, and helping clients identify motivation and find their reasons to recover is the ultimate pay-it forward act. Lauren also holds a 200 hour certification in yoga and has over 5000 hours of teaching experience. You can often find themes of body-connection and breath work incorporated into her compassion-focused therapeutic approach.

In her spare time, Lauren enjoys giggling with her daughter, tending to her many house plants, playing with her 3 dogs, and being outside.