Dr. Erik X Alonso Doctor in Psychology
The most Successful Individuals have the Mindset of a Champion
Dr. Erik X Alonso Doctor in Psychology
The most Successful Individuals have the Mindset of a Champion
The most Successful Individuals have the Mindset of a Champion
The most Successful Individuals have the Mindset of a Champion
Dr. Alonso holds a Master and Doctoral degrees in Clinical and Forensic Psychology with a concentration in Child and Adolescent Psychology, a second Master’s degree in Social Work with a Clinical Concentration and a Post-Doctorate residency at Miami Children’s Hospital, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine. My academic degrees, knowledge and experience enables me to offer my clients the highest level of knowledge and expertise.
Mental health coaching is a niche area of the broader coaching field, and while it may touch on some therapeutic elements, it aims to support children, adolescents and adults in overcoming barriers in their lives that may be caused by their mental health. Mental health is on a wide rage of spectrum, and psychotherapy may not always be the best behavioral health option for someone's specific mental health needs and challenges. Or, perhaps they've met with a therapist previously to better understand the effects of current or past experiences in their lives, and are now in a position to focus more on personal, educational or professional development. While therapy can be a great fit for many individuals, for others, there are numerous indicators that coaching may be a better match. These include:
Mental Health Coaching is an evidence-based approach that focuses on strengths-based support for children, adolescent and adults living with mental and behavioral health difficulties. Mental Health Coaching is the use of evidence-based strategies and interventions to actively and safely engage clients in behavior change to better self-manage their thoughts, behavior, health risk, and other health conditions resulting in optimal wellness, improved health outcomes is action oriented with an emphasis on improving one's present life and reaching goals for the future by addressing distressing thoughts and emotions.
Some examples of what a mental health coach may support a client with include:
Psychotherapy focuses on mental health illness; and uses a diagnosis in order to apply a series of different treatment modalities that may or may not be effective, ultimately leading to the patient being referred for medication management by a psychiatrist. Unfortunately Psychotherapy requires a series of bureaucratic documentation steps that are overly concerned with procedure at the expense of efficiency or common sense, given that everything must be documented, as it can easily be assessable by insurance companies or any entity with subpoena powers. Psychotherapy focuses on mental health illness and treats the person as a patient.
Mental Health Coaching focuses on performance, solutions and goals, using cognitive and behavioral modification methods that ultimately lead to change, success and greater quality of life. Mental Health Coaching focuses on mental coaching and treats the person as an individual with full potential.
Dr. Alonso began his professional career at Florida International University at the College of Health and Urban Affairs whereby he earned a Bachelor degree in Social Work (BSW), graduating with Honors as a distinguish Cum Laude. He then continued his graduate studies by earning a Master's degree in Clinical Social Work (MSW) and became inducted into the Social Work Honor Society, Phi Alpha. Afterwards he continued his educational career by pursuing a second degree in Clinical Psychology and setting the path to continue into his graduate studies at Albizu University, and completing a second Master's degree in Clinical Psychology (M.S.) followed by a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.) with a specialized concentration in Forensic Psychology and also inducted into The National Honor Society in Psychology, Psi Chi and awarded an Internship at the prestigious Miami Children's Hospital, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine. Upon graduation, He continued his Postdoctoral Residency in the Department of Psychiatry in both inpatient and outpatient settings. His Dissertation on an Adolescent Suicide Prevention Program Design using Multiple Family Group Therapy, is published and recorded in the United States Library of Congress.
Dr. Alonso worked as a Court appointed by the 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida as a Guardian Ad Litem, and by the Division of Family Court Services as a specialist in providing Extended Co-parenting Therapy, Parental Alienation Reunification, Family Therapy, and Therapeutic Supervised Visitations by way of his specialized expertise, concentrated education, and extensive training within the areas of Adolescent Behavior, Child Sexual Abuse, Adolescent Self-Mutilating Behavior/Suicide and Parental Alienation.
His expertise and diligence has placed him in the local and national media by appearing on English & Spanish National Television Networks as an Expert Speaker on topics of current events in Mental Health.
Bilingual: English (Fluent), Spanish (Fluent)
Higher Education
Doctor of Psychology, Clinical Psychology
Concentration: Forensic Psychology
Albizu University, Doral, Florida
APA Accredited
Master of Science in Psychology
Albizu University, Doral, Florida
APA Accredited
Master of Science in Social Work
Florida International University, Miami, Florida
Bachelor of Science in Social Work
Florida International University, Miami, Florida
Clinical Training
Post-Doctoral Fellow in Clinical Psychology
Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine
Miami Children’s Hospital “Nicklaus Children’s Hospital”
APA Accredited
Clinical Psychology Intern
Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine
Miami Children’s Hospital “Nicklaus Children’s Hospital”
APA Accredited
Clinical Psychology Practicum Student
Goodman Psychological Service Center
Albizu University
APA Accredited
Graduate Social Work Internship
Miami-Dade Family & Victims Services
Victim Advocacy Center
Graduate Social Work Internship
Jackson Memorial Hospital ~ Employee Assistance Program
Jackson Health System
Undergraduate Social Work Practicum
Public Defender’s Office of Miami-Dade County
Department of Juvenile Justice ~ 11th Judicial Circuit Court
Undergraduate Social Work Practicum
St. Luke’s Residential Drug & Alcohol Treatment Facility
Clinical Competencies and Service Areas
Child & Adolescent Psychology
Psychological Evaluations and Testing of Children and Adolescents with disorders of intellectual and learning disabilities, Schizophrenia, Major Depression, Anxiety, Autism, Substance Abuse, Attention Deficit Disorder, Eating Disorders and Personality Disorders. Responsible for using a broad-based approach to psychological treatment modalities including short and long term psychotherapy; group, family; and general assessment and consultation applicable to children and adolescents with severe mental illness. Responsible for establishing a consultative role with treatment teams and for assisting to develop protocols relating to outcome evaluation and treatment planning. Administering and interpreting psychological tests to children and adolescents; Intelligence; Personality, Achievement, Aptitude and Vocational.
Pediatric Inpatient Consultation
Inpatient emergency psychological consultations of medically compromised children and adolescents experiencing difficulty secondary to chronic illness within a wide variety of medical services, including Hematology/Oncology, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Physical Rehabilitation, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Pulmonary, and General Medicine.
Behavioral Medicine
Implementation of treatment of Children and Adolescents in-patient psychiatric unit due to self injurious behavior or overdose. Treatment components included Individual, Family and Group Therapy, reduce Self-injury/Cutting, Self-Mutilation Behaviors.
Intensive Outpatient Program: Transitioning children and adolescents from the psychiatric inpatient setting by continuing treatment to outpatient in a least-restrictive environment. Providing individual psychotherapy and family therapy to parents/guardians in a four-hour program offered three times per week.
Adult Psychology
Implementation of Clinical Assessments and Treatment of Adults with Mood and Anxiety Disorders. Treatment components included Individual, Family and Couples Therapy, using various treatment approaches of psychotherapies.
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