About

Hello! My name is Allyssa (sounds like Ah-lye-za) Ballard and I am a clinical social worker in the Detroit Metro area. I received my BS and dual Master’s degree in Social Work and Public Administration from Grand Valley State University, in 2014.
I have varying levels of experience working with adolescents, teens, young adults, adults, and elders. I primarily work with individuals that are struggling with crisis, trauma, complex PTSD, anxiety, and depression. I have been a crisis clinician working with people in different levels of distress for over 4 1/2 years which has informed how I approach my relationship with clients. Through becoming an expert in crisis mitigation and understanding the delicate balance that we live within through societal, familial, internal, and external stressors I am confident that through collaborating with clients we can navigate the difficult moments and empower healing.
“There are things about ourselves that we need to get rid of; there are things we need to change... The first thing we need to do is recognize and trust our own Inner Nature, and not lose sight of it." ~The Tao of Pooh. I find that during sessions the client and I will focus on looking at what is holistically going on, consider the factors leading into the distress or dysfunction, and come back to what matters most to the client.
Some clinical tools I utilize are mindfulness, DBT techniques, solution focused therapy, trauma-informed, and psychotherapy. I am a collaborative clinician who is focused on supporting all folks regardless of identity, struggle, belief system, and ability level. My goal is to assist each person to find empowerment within themselves and to advocate for their best lived experience.
As a queer, socially-just anti-racist, I love learning more about how we can support our entire community and work on finding solutions that can bring community together instead of excluding and dividing. I look forward to getting the opportunity to work with individuals that want sustainable change towards healing.