Our Team
About Us
Alternative Therapy is a trauma and psychedelic integration clinic serving Layton and Salt Lake City, Utah. Founded by Krista Buda, LCSW, PATP, our team of clinicians offers trauma-informed, somatic-based care — including EMDR, IFS, ART, and psychedelic integration therapy — in a space built for real healing, not just coping. We work with the full range of human experience, including psychedelic and plant medicine integration, and are proudly affirming of ENM, poly, kink, and LGBTQ+ identities. Because the experience is only the beginning — what happens after is everything.
"You don't need fixing. You need space to be fully you."
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Dr. Krista Buda (They/Them)
FOUNDER | LCSW
PhD in Natural Medicine, Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Practitioner
Krista@utahalternativetherapy.com
To Book a Consultation or Appointment Click here.Krista is the founder of Utah Alternative Therapy, dedicated to creating a safe, supportive space where healing is possible—especially for those who have felt unseen or misunderstood in traditional therapy. They specialize in working with LGBTQIA+, ENM, and kink-identified individuals, bringing a trauma-informed and affirming approach to every session.
Their commitment to this work is deeply personal—shaped by lived experiences within kink and queer communities and insight into the shortcomings of mainstream therapy. This fuels Krista’s dedication to creating truly transformative healing experiences.
With a PhD in Natural Medicine and certification as a psychedelic-assisted therapist through MAPS and IPI, Krista blends evidence-based therapies like EMDR/ART, Somatic therapy, and IFS with holistic practices, including work informed by mentorship under a Peruvian shaman.
Offers telehealth services and in-person intensives and plant medicine sessions
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Brandon Bissell (He/Him)
THERAPIST | CSW
Brandon@utahalternativetherapy.com To Book a Consultation or Appointment Click hereBrandon is a queer-identifying therapist who brings warmth, humor, and genuine compassion to his work with every client. He specializes in supporting neurodivergent, LGBTQIA+, kink, and ENM individuals, and believes therapy doesn't have to be heavy all the time—laughter and lightness have a place alongside the deep work, and he uses both to help clients feel at ease enough to show up fully and authentically. His approach centers on helping clients get curious about who they are, work through the weight of past experiences, and untangle the complexities of their relationships with themselves and others, offering steady support alongside honest, empowering guidance.
Growing up queer, Brandon struggled with fear, self-rejection, and a desire to be "normal." His own therapist was the first person to make him feel safe and seen as his true self—an experience that shapes how he shows up for his clients today. He's committed to creating a space where anyone can explore their thoughts, feelings, identity, and experiences without fear of judgment.
Brandon's work is grounded in evidence-based modalities, including EMDR/ART, Parts Work, CBT, ACT, DBT, Motivational Interviewing, and Solution-Focused Therapy, offering personalized care that honors each client's unique story and goals. He also brings experience in psychedelic integration work, helping clients process and make meaning from expanded states of consciousness.
You already have the strength and capacity for change within you. Whether you're seeking healing, clarity, or meaningful change, Brandon is here to walk alongside you—with sensitivity, insight, a little humor, and a real belief in what's possible for you.
Offers telehealth services and in-person plant medicine sessions
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Haley Rasmussen (She/Her)
THERAPIST | ACMHC
Haley@utahalternativetherapy.com
To Book a Consultation or Appointment Click hereHaley believes healing begins with learning how to hold life gently, even when emotions feel overwhelming. As a counselor, Haley takes a person-centered, collaborative approach to help clients explore new perspectives, navigate challenges, and understand the ways those experiences ripple through their lives.
Haley’s work is holistic and integrative, drawing from solution-focused approaches for life transitions, somatic therapy for health-related trauma, mindfulness-based practices, and integrative talk therapy. She tailors her approach to each individual, collaborating with clients to identify what feels most supportive and aligned with their lived experience. When traditional talk therapy feels overwhelming, Haley often incorporates movement-based practices or DBT-informed strategies to help clients shift focus, create grounding, and develop healthier relationships with thought patterns.
Haley’s personal journey, which includes navigating childhood cancer and experiences of grief and loss, has deeply shaped her work. These experiences have reinforced the importance of honoring trauma without allowing it to define identity. As a counselor, Haley’s goal is to support clients in finding meaning, balance, resilience, and a deeper connection to their authentic selves so they can build lives that feel both grounded and aligned.
Offers telehealth services and in-person sessions at our Salt Lake Office
Works alongside Krista or Brandon to support plant medicine therapy or other intensives
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Shilyn Alex (She/Her)
THERAPIST | CSW
Shilyn@utahalternativetherapy.com
To Book a Consultation or Appointment Click hereShilyn is an Indigenous therapist who believes in creating spaces that honor each person’s story, strengths, and connection to themselves, their community, and their roots—the original medicine. Her work centers complex and historical trauma, PTSD/CPTSD, identity exploration, relationships and attachment, OCD, and anxiety. She strives to create a space where clients can show up fully and authentically, offering a balance of genuine support and empowering guidance. Together with her clients, Shilyn works to face challenges directly, celebrate growth, uncover strengths, and rediscover the medicine within.
Shilyn believes that plant medicine is sacred and works at a psychedelic integration clinic. She provides care grounded in somatic and shadow work, narrative therapy, and advanced EMDR, including Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART). Her approach is anti-oppressive and affirming, honoring the lived experiences of LGBTQIA2S+, BIPOC, neurodivergent, body-diverse, polyamorous/ENM, and other marginalized communities.
Shilyn’s personal path has included reclaiming her self-worth after experiences of family estrangement, trauma, exploitation, and burnout. These experiences inform her understanding that therapy should feel like a collaborative partnership, where the client is the expert in their own life. Her role is to help clients reconnect with their wisdom, resilience, and sense of possibility. Together, the therapeutic process moves beyond survival and toward exploring the medicine and healing that already exist within them.
Offers telehealth services and in-person plant medicine sessions
Works alongside Krista or Brandon to support plant medicine therapy or other intensives
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Dempsey Fogarty (She/Her)
THERAPIST | CSW
Dempsey@utahalternativetherapy.com
To Book a Consultation or Appointment Click hereDempsey is a therapist dedicated to creating a gentle, compassionate, and attuned space where you can feel supported as you move through the ebbs and flows of life. She believes that meaningful healing begins with a relationship where you feel seen, heard, and respected. She strives to foster an environment where you can show up just as you are, without judgment or pressure to be anything different.
Her approach to therapy is rooted in evidence-based practices, including somatic embodiment, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). She works with both the mind and body as she recognizing that our experiences are not only held in our thoughts but also in our nervous system. By gently exploring patterns, building awareness, and developing practical tools, she supports clients in cultivating resilience, strengthening self-trust, and creating lasting, meaningful change.
Her work is grounded in the belief that each person already holds an innate capacity for healing and growth. Rather than “fixing” what’s wrong, she collaborates with clients to reconnect with their inner wisdom, clarify their values, and move toward a life that feels more aligned, empowered, and fulfilling. Dempsey honors the courage it takes to begin this work and is committed to walking alongside you as you rediscover your voice and reconnect with yourself in a deeper, more compassionate way.
Offers telehealth services and in-person sessions at our Salt Lake Office
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Ash Larsen (He/They)
THERAPIST | CSW
Ash@utahalternativetherapy.com
To Book a Consultation or Appointment Click hereAsh works with individuals ranging from 6 years old and up. He specializes in working with individuals navigating identity, relationships, and life transitions, with a focus on LGBTQIA+, neurodivergent, kink, and ENM communities. As a neurodivergent, trans therapist, he values creating a space that feels affirming, respectful, and grounded in real understanding. He also works with clients processing religious trauma and exploring how past environments continue to shape their experiences.
His approach is client-centered and trauma-informed. Asher works collaboratively with clients to better understand patterns, process experiences, and move toward changes that feel meaningful and sustainable. He integrates trauma-focused DBT, CBT, motivational interviewing, and other evidence-based approaches in a way that stays flexible to each person’s needs.
Offers telehealth services and in-person sessions at our Salt Lake Office
Works alongside Krista or Brandon to support plant medicine therapy or other intensives
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Morgan Hunstman (She/Her)
THERAPIST INTERN | MSW-I
Morgan@utahalternativetherapy.com
To Book a Consultation or Appointment Click hereMorgan's goal is for clients to leave sessions with more than just a place to be heard. She wants clients to leave with real tools they can use in their everyday life, and a sense that they're not carrying it alone.
Morgan works primarily with survivors of intimate partner violence and domestic violence, alongside the trauma, fear, and disorientation that often comes with navigating systems that were supposed to help and didn't. She's genuinely passionate about this work — about sitting with people who've been harmed by the very systems meant to protect them, and helping them find their way through, not around, what happened.
Her approach draws on Advanced EMDR (ART), ACT, and somatic techniques, because she believes healing isn't just something we talk about — it's something we have to feel and work through in the body, too. In session, Morgan is honest and direct, but never at the expense of care. Clients deserve someone who will tell them the truth and stand beside them while they sit with it.
Morgan practices anti-oppressive, affirming care. All identities, relationship structures, and lifestyles are welcome — clients don't have to translate themselves for her to understand them. She works with clients to support goals including gender-affirming care letters, ESA, and court-needed documentation.
Working together looks like honesty, patience, and space to be exactly who you are, without judgment or a script for what healing "should" look like.
If this sounds like the space you've been looking for, Morgan would love to connect.
Offers telehealth sessions
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Katherine Allemeier (She/Her)
THERAPIST INTERN | MSW-I
Katherine@utahalternativetherapy.com
To Book a Consultation or Appointment Click hereKatherine is a therapist intern working toward her certification through AASECT (the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists), with a focused interest in sex therapy, ethical non-monogamy (ENM), and kink. She's especially passionate about helping clients untangle religious shame and guilt from their relationship to sex and identity, creating a space where those experiences can be examined honestly instead of carried silently.
Her approach is collaborative and affirming, meeting clients where they are without judgment about their relationship structures, sexual identities, or desires. She works alongside Krista in the early stages of client care, allowing clients to benefit from combined experience while building a foundation of trust and comfort before continuing the work with Katherine directly.
Katherine believes that shame loses its grip when it's brought into the light with someone who won't flinch. She's committed to being that steady, nonjudgmental presence for clients working through the intersection of faith, sexuality, and self-acceptance.
Offers telehealth services and in-person sessions at our Salt Lake Office
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