Alicia Freeman is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist – Associate whose passion for mental health and supporting underrepresented populations has led her to private practice at Ascend Counseling, PLLC and higher education at UNC-CH. She currently works as the Mental Health First Aid Coordinator at UNC-CH and owner of Ascend Counseling, PLLC. Beyond psychotherapy and education, her background also includes vocational and career counseling, accessibility services, and holistic wellness modalities.
Alicia was raised in a rural Native American community called Buckhead, and is a member of the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe. She values connection, interdependence, and collective healing through cultural and spiritual lenses. In her free time she enjoys exercising, crafting, spending time with friends and family, and cuddling with her fur baby Cayden.
Get to Know Alicia
How do you identify yourself?
Native American, cis-gender, female, woman, heterosexual, raised as Catholic currently aligned as a non-denominational believer in a higher power and cultural spiritual practices.
List three things that people would be most surprised to learn about you.
1. I have a unique southern accent that is representative of my homeland in rural NC. Home of the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe.
2. I’m an only child
3. I have the ability to balance multiple jobs, regular physical activity, and engaging in numerous social groups as a part of my lifestyle.
Whom do you most admire and why?
I admire my mom. She was a single parent who pursued and completed an associate’s degree after job loss when the sewing factory where she worked closed. Her strength, determination, and resilience as a Native American woman and mother has inspired me to be all that I have become and continue to pursue.