Why I Became An Advocate: Alie Garza

About Alie Garza

Alie Garza, LMSW, is a Therapist at the OCD Institute|Texas in Houston, TX, and holds a Master's of Social Work from the University of Washington in Seattle. She often pulls from her own lived experiences with severe OCD, which is what led her to pursue specializing in OCD, Anxiety and other related disorders with youth and young adults. Alie's clinical background includes working in youth psychiatric residential, crisis response, suicide prevention, and IOP/PHP in Portland, OR, and Denver, CO. Some of her most significant clinical interests include comorbidities such as ADHD and/or ASD, providing neurodivergent-affirming care, collaboratively working with families, and taking a 'think outside the box' approach to creating individualized treatment plans. Outside of the clinic, Alie is passionate about mental health advocacy, especially demystifying higher levels of care and destigmatizing 'taboo' themes. In addition, she and her husband are passionate about supporting youth, which led them to becoming foster parents to teens experiencing housing instability. They are also proud chihuahua parents and emerging foodies new to the Houston scene.