FOUNDER • LICENSED MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPIST
Alison Hunter, LMFT
Understanding yourself can change the way you relate to everyone around you.
I work with individuals, couples, and families who want to better understand themselves, their relationships, and the patterns that keep showing up in both.
Couples • Relationships • Family Dynamics • Parenting • Experiential Therapy
Therapy That Looks Beneath the Pattern
At the heart of my work, I'm a relational therapist.
I'm interested in what's happening in your life now- but I'm also curious about how you got here.
The families we grow up in teach us things about closeness, conflict, trust, emotions, boundaries, responsibility, and what we need to do to feel loved or safe. Some of those patterns serve us incredibly well.
Others follow us into adulthood long after we need them.
Together, we'll get curious about those patterns without judging them.
The goal isn't to blame your past for your present. It's to understand yourself well enough that you have more choice in how you want to live and relate going forward.
What It's Like to Work With Me
I want therapy to feel warm, grounded, collaborative, and deeply human.
You don't need to arrive knowing exactly what's wrong with you- or even exactly what you want to change.
We'll figure that out together.
My work often explores relationships, family-of-origin experiences, attachment, communication, intimacy, authenticity, and the relationship you have with yourself.
And while conversation can be incredibly powerful, I don't believe meaningful therapy has to happen exclusively while sitting in an office.
Depending on what fits your needs, I also incorporate experiential approaches including Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy, Equus Coaching, and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy.
Sometimes we understand ourselves by talking.
Sometimes we understand ourselves differently when we experience something in real time.
Horses Have Always Been Part of My Story
I've ridden and learned from horses since childhood and later became a competitive equestrian.
Horses taught me about presence, communication, boundaries, trust, leadership, and relationship long before I had clinical language for those things.
Eventually, I wanted to intentionally bring that lifelong connection into my professional work.
I became a Certified Master Facilitator and Equus Coach through the Koelle Institute and now offer both Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy and Equus Coaching.
Horses don't replace the therapeutic relationship.
They simply give us another relationship to learn from.
Training & Background
I earned my Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Tulane University and my Master's Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Chaminade University.
My additional training and certifications include:
Relational Life Therapy with Terry Real
Developmental Model of Couples Therapy through The Couples Institute
Prepare-Enrich Premarital Counseling
Prepare-Enrich Parenting Assessment
Level 1 Internal Family Systems (IFS) Training
End-of-Life Doula Training, Dying School Alumni
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy training through Polaris Insight Center
Master Facilitator Equus Coach through the Koelle Institute
Outside of the therapy room, I live with my family in Northern California and love spending time in nature, going to the beach with my dogs, and, unsurprisingly, being around horses.
THERAPY ACROSS CALIFORNIA
Online & In-Person Therapy Across California
Our therapists provide online therapy throughout California, making it possible to access relational, individualized support from wherever you call home.
In-person, nature-based and experiential therapy services are also available in select Northern and Central California communities.
Therapy in Salinas
Explore therapy for adults, couples, children, teens and families in Salinas, California, including in-person services.
Connections Boarding Stables 22400 Indian Springs Rd
Salinas, CA 93908
Therapy in Auburn
Explore therapy services for individuals, couples and families in Auburn and the surrounding Northern California communities.
Therapy in Truckee
Find therapy in Truckee for relationships, anxiety, trauma, stress, life transitions and other challenges, with virtual and select experiential options.
Could We Be a Good Fit?
You might connect with my approach if you're looking for therapy that is relational, curious, active, and interested in more than symptom management.
You don't have to arrive as the person you think you're supposed to be.
We can start with who you actually are.