Alex is a licensed clinical psychologist and owner/founder of Lightside Psychology.

He graduated summa cum laude from Newberry College in 2015 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in English. He also lettered in Varsity Baseball as a starting pitcher. Alex received his M.A. in School Psychology from University of South Carolina in 2018 en route to obtaining his Ph.D. in 2020. He completed a dual clinical child- and forensic-focused APA-accredited internship at Bexar County Juvenile Probation Department in San Antonio, Texas in 2019-2020. Alex then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital, a pediatric hospital affiliate of Johns Hopkins Medicine and University of Maryland Medical System, located in Baltimore, Maryland, in 2020-2021. He relocated to southwest Florida in late 2021 where he founded and directed the outpatient psychological testing program at Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida, a large nationally recognized pediatric hospital in Fort Myers, Florida. Alex transitioned to private practice in late 2023.

Specific Education & Training

Alex’s background is unique in that he has evaluated and treated individuals in a wide variety of settings and for numerous purposes. His doctoral training focused on psychoeducational testing and general educational advocacy of students in academic settings. While he has expertise evaluating students for special education eligibility to inform Individualized Education Programs (IEP), Alex also has experience providing clinical consultation to attorneys in educational rights clinics representing the families of students whose learning needs are not being met. He is well versed in both federal and state policies, procedures, and laws pertaining to special education eligibility, especially the educational rights of students and their families.

Alex’s pre-doctoral training focused largely on evaluating and treating incarcerated youth with significant behavioral and mental health issues, personality concerns, and a history of trauma and other adverse childhood experiences. He routinely collaborated with other treatment providers, attorneys, and county judges in advocating for the mental health needs of at-risk and detained youth.

His post-doctoral training involved generalist practice of psychological assessment of children, adolescents, and young adults who experienced a wide range of developmental differences and psychological challenges.

Most recently, Alex founded and directed the outpatient psychological testing program at Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida. He conducted psychological evaluations of children, adolescents, and young adults referred from multiple entities (e.g., psychology, inpatient/outpatient psychiatry, developmental and general pediatrics, adolescent medicine, neurology, endocrinology) who presented with various developmental, psychological, and/or neuropsychological concerns.

Alex transitioned to independent private practice in late 2023 due to a desire to spend more time with his clients and their families during the psychological testing, treatment, and consultation/advocacy process. His independent practice primarily focuses on psychological and psychoeducational testing. He also provides individual therapy to clients, as well as clinical consultation services to larger agencies. He fields referrals directly from individuals/families and school systems, in addition to psychologists, psychotherapists, and multiple medical entities (e.g., psychiatry, neurology, developmental pediatrics, adolescent medicine, endocrinology, etc.) in the Lakeland community and throughout the state of Florida.

Alex also remains active in the academic community with a research focus on psychological intervention design, psychometrics and test design, mindfulness, and empirically supported interventions to reduce stress and burnout in teachers. Please see below for a link to Alex’s peer-reviewed publications.