Holmdel-Based Therapy Practice Aims To Make Connections

HOLMDEL, NJ — Dr. Alexis Dragun didn’t always plan on starting a private therapy practice.

Currently based in Holmdel, Dragun worked as a high school social worker for almost 10 years before starting her own practice in May 2020.

Between the birth of her daughter and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dragun said she found herself struggling to balance things going on in her life. The changes happening around her inspired her to start her own practice.

“I wasn’t sure how to balance having a new baby and going back to work in school once my [maternity] leave was over,” Dragun said. “So I decided to just open a private practice and make that my full-time career.”

As a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist, Dragun offers treatment in areas ranging from depression and self-esteem to stress and life transitions.

Though she has experience in various treatment areas, Dragun’s work began with a focus on adolescents after noticing families in her area struggling to cope with changes happening in the world around them.

“Because I was living in a suburb at the time, I found that there were plenty of families — especially since it was during COVID — that were struggling with all these changes that were happening,” Dragun said. “So I felt that it was a good fit.”

Though Dragun initially started her practice with a focus on families and adolescents, she shifted her focus to perinatal mental health following the birth of her second daughter in 2021.

Defined as the time when you become pregnant and up to a year after giving birth, Dragun’s perinatal care covers pregnancy, prenatal and postpartum stages of pregnancy.

According to Dragun, the lack of awareness around maternal and perinatal mental health is part of the reason her focus shifted, as well as the realization of how many new mothers and parents in the Holmdel community were struggling with the transition into parenthood.

“I realized there was really not as much awareness and focus on maternal and perinatal mental health as I thought there should be,” Dragun said. “So I went back. I did additional training and certification courses, I sat for the perinatal mental health certification and I became a certified perinatal mental health clinician.”

In Dragun’s day-to-day work, she takes on a holistic approach to therapy, ensuring that her work examines previous experiences, what's currently happening and what the future may look like for the patient.

According to Dragun, allowing the patient space for an open dialogue about thoughts, feelings, emotions and experiences is what often leads to healing, growth and self-awareness.

“It comes from where the patient is right in that moment, and we go from what seems really important and salient at that time,” Dragun said. “Sometimes that might bring up ‘Hey, this happened to me a long time ago,’ or ‘I remember this from childhood,’ for example. And we kind of work together to make connections or see what patterns may be there.”

For those considering therapy for themselves, Dragun wants people to know that there may not be a lightbulb moment where they think ‘I need to start therapy right now.’

Though some people have those epiphanies, Dragun said therapy can be for those who are struggling as much as it can be for those who want to look deeper into themselves or those who just want to better understand their behaviors, thoughts, or emotions.

“It can be tremendously isolating when people have emotional experiences and they think they’re the only one feeling it,” Dragun said. “And to just be able to sit with someone and talk about it? That can be therapeutic.”

Dr. Dragun provides in-person and virtual therapy sessions for adolescents aged 13-17, adults, couples and families.

To learn more about Dr. Dragun or book a meeting with her, you can visit her website.