An Inspired Chat with Alicia Marie

We recently had the chance to connect with Alicia Marie and have shared our conversation below.

Alicia , a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What battle are you avoiding?
If I’m being real, I’ve spent a long time avoiding the battle of receiving. I’m great at giving—support, wisdom, space for others to feel seen. That’s where I thrive. But receiving love, care, help… that’s been harder. There’s a part of me that still equates independence with worth. That if I need less, I am more.

But the truth is—letting people in, letting them show up for me—that’s the battle I’m finally learning not to avoid. I’m reminding myself that softness isn’t weakness, that surrender isn’t defeat, and that receiving is its kind of strength.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Alicia Marie.
I’m a therapist, life coach, and the founder of Elevated Minds, a space I created for people who are ready to go deeper than talk therapy alone. My work is rooted in healing the nervous system, reclaiming your story, and building a life that feels like freedom—not just looks like success.

I specialize in helping high-functioning, emotionally exhausted people who are tired of being the strong one. I blend somatic work, EMDR, mindfulness, and raw real talk to help my clients move through trauma, perfectionism, intimacy struggles, and the aftermath of growing up too fast or being silenced too long.

What makes my brand different is that I don’t just help people understand their patterns—I help them feel them, move them, and liberate themselves from them. I walk with my clients through the messy middle and the sacred breakthroughs. My newest creation, the “Feel & Free Method,” is my personal framework for emotional release and nervous system repair. It’s a practice of coming back home to yourself—over and over again.

Outside the office, I’m just a woman doing her own healing, learning to rest, laugh, set better boundaries, and live in deep alignment with truth. Everything I offer comes from what I’ve lived through.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who taught you the most about work?
My dad. He taught me to be fiercely independent. That no one was going to hand me anything, and if I wanted something, I had to work harder than everyone else in the room. He believed in showing up, not slacking off. Work was survival, security, and self-respect all wrapped into one.

He also taught me—without meaning to—that emotions didn’t belong at work. That if you’re tired, you push through. If you’re hurting, you bury it. There wasn’t space for softness, only strength. And for a long time, I lived that way.

Now I’m unlearning some of that. I still carry his work ethic in everything I do, but I’m also learning that rest is part of the rhythm. That emotion doesn’t make you weak—it makes you human. And that I can honor what my dad gave me while still doing things differently.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
You don’t have to earn love by being perfect.
You are already worthy—messy, emotional, loud, quiet, confused, growing.
You don’t have to hold it all together to be enough.
Let yourself be soft. Let yourself be seen.
You are not too much.
You are not a burden.
You are a light. Even when it hurts. Even when you’re still figuring it out.

I’d tell her: Baby girl, you make it. And you become someone you’re proud of.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That insight alone is enough.
That if you can name the trauma, the pattern, or the diagnosis, you’re healed.
That staying neutral makes you ethical.
That emotion belongs in the client, but not the clinician.
That therapists can’t show up as full, human, feeling people and still be effective.

Another lie? That we have to choose one lane. That therapy and coaching can’t coexist. But the truth is—people need both. They need space to process and tools to rebuild. They need someone who can hold the pain and still challenge the pattern. That’s why I do both.

And maybe the biggest lie? That we’re not still healing too. That we’ve “arrived.” I call bullshit on that. The best work comes from those of us who are still doing our own.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What pain do you resist facing directly?
The pain of being deeply disappointed by the people I thought would protect me.
Of realizing that some of the safest places weren’t actually safe at all.
Of having to grow up too fast, speak the truth too early, and carry secrets that weren’t mine to hold.

I’ve done the work—therapy, EMDR, somatic release, all of it. But there are still tender parts of me that flinch when I get close to that little girl inside who just wanted someone to choose her without conditions.

Sometimes I resist sitting fully in her pain… because when I do, I feel the weight of what she never got. And that’s heavy. But I also know that’s where the freedom is.

So I keep returning. Gently. Slowly. Learning that healing isn’t about perfection—it’s about presence.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.elevatedmindswa.com
• Instagram: @aliciamarietherapy

Image Credits
Bella Cagnetta
@chicshootsphotography