Tending the gap and the overlap: clinical therapy and healing arts for clients, practitioners, and community.
Our providers:
Melanie Storrusten, LCSW - owner and therapist, providing therapy for deeper healing, specializing in working with folks healing after trauma, LGB and trans clients, those seeking to reaffirm their connection with their bodies that may feel disrupted due to stress and trauma, illness or injury, body image concerns, or all of the ways society teaches us not to listen to our truest i
nnermost voice. Melanie utilizes yoga, meditation, breath practices, reiki, and EMDR as well as traditional talk-therapy techniques. Visit http://www.alignwellnessatl.com to read about our other clinicians.
04/21/2026
"It's the worst that it's been since the last time it happened
It's happening again right in front of our eyes"..
Tyler Childers wrote this song in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd. In it, he wonders about how his own Appalachian community might respond if they were faced with the same treatment. It is a powerful lament, and a moving invitation for those of us in privileged positions to, as best we can, feel into what it might be like to walk in the shoes of another.
For our healing, it is prerequisite that The South as a region and The United States as a country reckon with the harms we have done. And so we first have to really look at them. There is a Forgetting Spirit here, and we must not do what it says.
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We'll be sharing some art, poetry, and music that inspires us along the way. Artists and art are so important in times such as these. Won't you make some?
04/18/2026
We are opening one spot on our Atlanta team. ❤️✨ More about working at Align and link to send your resume on our website.
04/18/2026
Align is opening one spot on our team in our Atlanta office. Read more about working with us at www.alignwellnessatl.com/about
04/17/2026
Align therapist Jennifer Green, LMSW says, "This reminds me of the strength people carry within them, even on the days they feel tired. In therapy, we don’t rush the rising. We move at your pace, together."
We love the persistence and determination held in such a simple statement: "And still, I rise." -- Maya Angelou
04/17/2026
Though today's new moon is in Aries, I still want to slow down.
In her book, The Body is a Doorway, Sophie Strand writes: "The feeling of being 'on time' is 'coupled with a sigh of relief and a steady heartbeat... If we 'have time' it is almost a physical space, languid as sunshine-warmed ocean water, that we can move through at our own whim. Our bodies feel loose in the joints, our bellies are soft, our spines remain fluid and aligned when we 'have' time."
describes the feeling when he talks about "piddlin'." Just puttering around the house doing all the small, fussy things that we don't have time for when we have too much to do. He says this is him living his best life, and I whole-heartedly agree. May we all find the spaciousness of time to regularly piddle.
I've been aiming for that feeling for years now.
I recall it best as a feeling of rolling down the window on a just-warming-up day, before too much humidity has filled the air - when it's still easy to breathe, and the breeze feels crisp. When you're driving away from a place that was oppressive, heading to a place that has no agenda, with no deadline for arrival. Your favorite song is on, turned up loud, and you feel the relief descend upon you, the stress tumbling off behind you on the road. You put your arm out the window and let it surf on the air current as you coast by, your arm doin' the worm, full of joy. Have you felt it? Can you feel it now?
04/16/2026
How much time do I need each day to get sufficiently caught up on the news so I can stay present to what's happening and formulate any plan of action I need to implement?
vs.
How much time did I spend reading about, looking at pictures of, watching videos of, or listening to other people's hot political takes of today's horrors and embarrassments?
The difference between these two answers is harming me, and is stealing my time and energy from on-purpose living, higher priorities, and needs that are closer to home. This doesn't mean that I get to or want to stop paying attention and taking impactful, meaningful action. It just means I cannot and should not wallow in it as if the wallowing is accomplishing anything.
But it's easy for our brains to get stuck in those vortexes. Fear and anger are very motivating emotions for our brains - it makes sense on an evolutionary level that these emotions are important, and paying attention to whatever inspires them seems crucially important to our survival. Our brains want to keep investigating until we find an answer, until everything makes sense again in our world view, until the cognitive dissonance can be resolved.
My will power alone is not sufficient to bridge the divide between how much I should spend and how much time I do spend online. So, I've started bricking my phone, and it's helping. I'm sleeping better. I have more undivided attention to offer my daughter. And the cumulative stimulation load on my system is lessened. This is especially important for those of us with anxiety, a tendency towards hypervigilance from trauma, differing sensory needs from neurodivergence or chronic illness, etc.
Not ready to commit to a Brick yet? There are some other gamified apps available that help you limit your time online/on your phone, and one of the first steps I took that was also helpful was turning the brightness and color saturation way down on my phone. That alone made it less appealing for my brain to look at my phone. What have you tried to break the addiction to your phone? Did it work?
*This is not an ad and we don't get any kickbacks or have affiliate deals with Brick or any other products or organizations we may recommend.
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How are the therapists coping? is a series of posts where our therapists share their most impactful coping skills during times of non-stop chaos and crisis. We'd love to hear yours, too. May it be of benefit. ❤️ 🙏
04/14/2026
And now, your mental health cat break. 😺
This is tail-wagging Doc(tor Scissorpaws), cat of Julie Lane, LPC.
04/13/2026
Rage Becomes Her - A women's book club with Kaleigh McAfee, AMFT and IFS therapist discussing Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger by Soraya Chemaly
This virtual space is for women to wonder together about how we have been and how we can be in relationship with the parts of us that are enraged – our own and in other women. The group will include: a guided discussion of the book, somatic and parts-exploring work to build relationship with our own rage parts, and group sharing. Our goal for the group is that participants will leave with a better understanding of the ways in which your own rage parts need to be held/expressed and a plan for how you'll maintain relationship with these parts.
The group will meet on zoom from 10:00am - 12:00pm on Sunday April 19th. Registration is required and space is limited. The cost of the group is a minimum donation of $9, with a portion of proceeds plus our own donation going to support the Augusta, GA (Kaleigh's local community) Sexual Assault Response Center. This group is for peer support and educational purposes and is not a therapy group.
Save the date! A L I G N is turning 10 years old this year and we are throwing a party to mark the occasion. Save a spot on your calendar for Friday afternoon 3-6pm June 19th for therapist networking and celebration. I'm already so excited to see all of you!
04/10/2026
Meet Jizo, a Bodhisattva - a being who has reached enlightenment, but by choice incarnates again and again to work for the liberation of all beings. An embodiment of the wisdom: none of us are free until we all are. Jizo in particular is a representation of selfless compassion and dedication to humanity, known as a defender of children, travelers, and those stuck in the deepest realms of suffering. Even the concept of such a being brings me comfort - a cosmic response to "look for the helpers." Plus, he's simply adorable. If you feel drawn to him, you might like to research him more and see what he may have to teach you.
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At Align, we believe that three things are crucial to be a part of everyone's care plan, especially now: 1. connection to true community where there is not only affinity, but a reciprocal exchange of practical support, 2. purposeful action where meaningful impact can be seen, and 3. spiritual beliefs and practices.
Spirituality is a tricky thing for a lot of us. Some of us don't have any spiritual beliefs and don't want any, and some of us have been greatly wounded by religion. At Align, we define spirituality as anything that makes us feel more connected to:
- our innermost self
- to others and the Earth
- or to God - however we may define or hold the mystery of that concept.
We have found deep spirituality in nature, in our neighbors, in silence, in our body, in rooms full of addicts, in deities of religions we don't even believe in, in the wonders of science, in poetry, art, and music, in atheist philosophy, around campfires, in volunteer groups, in singing together, in yoga, in ritual, in running, in our own therapy offices, in pain and loss, in joy and awe. We share small glimpses of spirituality wherever we might find it, not that we want you to believe in any particular thing - or in anything at all, but that you might find something meaningful, somewhere. May it be of benefit.❤️ 🙏
04/09/2026
Hold a hand. Hug a friend. Lay on the Earth, preferably under a tree. Pet your pet. Do one whole-hearted Sun Salutation. Hike Stone Mountain (tell him I said hello and I miss him). Sing together - at a concert, at church, or with Singing Resistance Atlanta. Grieve in a group at the Grief House. People watch at The High or tulip watch at the Botanical Gardens or go have a picnic at Oakland Cemetery. Join a walking group. Take a yoga class in person. (We love Conjure Yoga and our virtual Monday night class with Megan Nare, or add a giant llama with Brawner Raymond.) Get a tattoo. Meditate with monks at Drepung Loseling. Watch a candle flame. Gaze at an icon or yantra. Get in water. Add salt. Sit with a blueberry bush. Share a blanket with someone you love. Lean into the wind. Be moved by the tide. Birdwatch. Bugwatch. Co-work or co-hobby. Hold your baby. Dance with somebody.
We are meant to heal ✨️together✨️, not alone.
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How are the therapists coping? is a series of posts where our therapists share their most impactful coping skills during times of non-stop chaos and crisis. We'd love to hear yours, too. May it be of benefit. ❤️ 🙏
04/07/2026
From Align therapist Julie Lane, LPC:
"One of my favorite tools to share with clients (and I use it myself) is a DBT technique of self soothing using the 5 senses. I encourage people to explore what sights, sounds, things to touch, smells, and even tastes are calming for each individual. You can create a little bag of goodies and/or a playlist with videos/sounds that help ground you when feeling anxious or overwhelmed. It could be anything from watching or listening to ocean waves crashing onto a shoreline to the scent of a eucalyptus candle to holding a cold blue stone in your hand. These items can help in many situations, for example if you have some anxiety being on the interstate, during a job interview, or before a medical procedure."
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We provide holistic and integrative mental health treatment encompassing body, mind, and soul by utilizing conventional and alternative methods to facilitate connection with your innate and free-flowing capacity for deeper healing.
Our intention is that our work would contribute to a world where we all know ourselves more fully, care for ourselves more freely, take up space more confidently, and live more joyfully and abundantly from a place of purpose, compassion, and grace.
Align Wellness is filled with compassionate and skilled clinicians ready to meet you where you are, and to walk alongside you on your way to where you want to be. Whether you are looking for traditional therapy, deeper trauma therapy, yoga and meditation instruction, energy work, or holistic psychiatric medication support, we hope that one of our providers will be a good fit for meeting your needs. Read more about our services and reach out to connect about the type of work that feels most resonant to you.
For the traditionalist
Align Wellness Solutions specializes in providing therapy services to address issues of stress, anxiety, and trauma. One of our core beliefs is that this kind of deeper healing happens beneath the realm of cognition and the analytical (our over-thinking minds) - that healing lies in the domain of emotion, energy, and our physical bodies. So our work is based on restoring your connection and relationship to these parts of yourself.
Accessing the subtle body
EMDR
Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a powerful tool for treating post-traumatic stress disorder and for shifting negative core beliefs. This specialized technique can be incorporated into your therapy sessions with Melanie, or added on to your work with another therapist.
Yoga and Meditation
Confession: "yoga and meditation" is redundant. Yoga is a multi-faceted path that includes not only asana, the physical poses we usually think of as "yoga," but also breathwork and several layers of what we usually call "meditation."
Really, yoga means union.
We can use yoga's many tools of mind-body union - whether by way of breathing exercises and guided meditation practices, or sometimes incorporating small amounts of asana practices.
Reiki
Usui Reiki is a system of energy healing in which providers have received attunements to enable them to channel universal life energy (ki/chi/prana) in order to facilitate the body's innate ability to heal. It is used in hospitals and hospices around the world as a complementary treatment. Reiki can be a stand-alone service or can serve as a support for the deep work you are doing in therapy.
Holistic Psychiatric Care
With the addition of Lindsay Fuson, NP, we are pleased to offer holistic and integrated psychiatric services. Lindsay provides conventional medication management services, and also guidance and support regarding natural and alternative methods of managing your mental health symptoms.
