Beth Alter

Beth received her Master’s in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1981. Following her Master’s she worked for Vermont Children’s Aid Society, for 8 years. Beth has worked for Dutchess County for the past thirty three years and retired in July of 2019. She was the Director of Acute Behavioral Health Services, overseeing HELPLINE, the Community based and Hospital Mobile Teams, the Dutchess County Trauma Team and the newly opened Dutchess County Stabilization Center.

Beth has done work in both the substance use field and with mental health services, both with youth and adults. She has served on the board of the Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

She was the liaison from the Dutchess County Behavioral Health services to the county’s Emergency Operational Center. She was a member of the Dutchess County Crisis Intervention Team Steering Committee, as well as a trainer for law enforcement.

I have worked with individuals of all ages living with symptoms of anxiety and depression. I work using DBT and Solution Focused therapies and I have also worked with many individuals who have lived through trauma. I work with my patients together to understand the trauma, it's impact, and to assist in understanding that impact and to build skills to move forward.

People come to therapy for many reasons. I like to use the first session to explore those reasons and to build rapport!