Meet Alicia Hooper, Cook Children's EAP Therapist for Employees and Families

Life presents us with challenges at work and at home on a daily basis. To ensure we don't face these challenges alone, Cook Children's provides EAP services to help care for our employees and their dependents. After all, to be able to take care of others, we must take care of ourselves.

Meet Alicia Hooper
Alicia Hooper is the Cook Children’s near-site counselor who is housed in the CareATC office off Henderson and Pennsylvania in Fort Worth.

She is a licensed clinical social worker and chemical dependence counselor who was born and raised in Fort Worth.

Alicia attended the University of North Texas, where she received bachelor’s degrees in psychology and sociology, and the University of Texas at Arlington, where she received master’s degrees in social work and sociology and a graduate certificate in women’s and gender studies.  

After earning her degrees, she spent a couple of years as a case manager for The Samaritan House in Fort Worth, working with individuals affected by major health conditions and mental illness, and then transitioned into a role at a residential treatment center for adolescents and adults with substance use disorders.

She says she is drawn to working with the professional population and aims to provide thoughtful support to front-line individuals. She is excited to work with Cook Children's employees and their families.

EAP Services
Alicia works primarily with adolescents ages 13 to 17 and adults ages 18 and up. In some instances, she works with younger individuals, depending on their ability to participate in therapy. She also assists couples who are experiencing discord within their relationships.

 She offers traditional talk therapy with an emphasis on rational emotive behavioral therapy and short-term solution-focused discussion, which involves individualized goal-setting. With the younger population, her therapeutic focus is on play-based mindfulness activities and skill-building, using trust-based relational interventions.

 “I’m non-judgmental and I enjoy what I do,” she says. “I really believe in the collaborative care model, so it’s not me sitting in a chair and telling you things because I’m the expert in the room. I may be the expert at some type of modality and have a really good knowledge of treatment, but you’re the expert in your life. That’s a critical component of therapy.”

 Alicia offers three types of therapy sessions to accommodate patients’ needs:

• 15-minute consultations, which provide an opportunity for Alicia to meet with a client and understand his or her needs before scheduling an appointment.
• 30-minute sessions, which are traditional sessions geared toward employees who do not have availability for longer sessions.
• 50-minute traditional sessions. These sessions offer a regular length appointment option.

Appointments
Alicia’s in-person hours mimic the CareATC clinic’s hours, so she is available Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Tuesdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. She offers flexibility through virtual appointments, too.

“I am here, I want to help and I’m available,” she says. “We have all gone through this really collective experience with this global pandemic and we have a lot going on.”

Alicia also believes therapy provides a meaningful way to meet individual needs. “It’s nice to have someone who is not connected or has no external knowledge to process with and talk to,” she says.

Virtual or in-person appointments with Alicia can be scheduled by calling the EAP main phone number, 1-800-395-1616.