Today we’d like to introduce you to Alycia DeGraff.
Hi Alycia, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Comprehensive Mental Health was born out of an unwavering belief that mental health care could, and should, be done differently. I met Dr. Garcia in the trenches of corporate health care circa 2016. At the time, I was a bright-eyed therapist fresh out of my PhD program and Dr. Garcia had recently relocated to Austin after working as a professor and program director at Wash U’s medical school. We quickly bonded over our crass senses of humor, our neuroticism for providing good treatment, and a shared disillusionment with how the health care system around us worked.
We saw first hand how corporate mental health care often prioritized profit over people. Insurance companies would try (and often succeeded) in dictating treatment. Clinical decisions were filtered through “KPI” dashboards instead of client needs. The human connection–the heart of good therapy– was totally lost in bureaucracy. By the time the pandemic hit in 2020 I had been promoted to Clinical Director and was wholly responsible for our clinical, nursing, and technical teams–which meant, I was fully carrying the weight of our team’s exhaustion, burn out and moral fatigue that so many health care providers across the world were experiencing.
Dr. Garcia and I would often call each other on our commutes home to commiserate on our days and talk smack about how we would do it better. It slowly dawned on us that, we actually (probably) could, in fact, do it better. We could create a system that took GOOD care of our providers, which in turn would allow them to take the MOST GOOD care of their clients and our community.
I left the corporate world in 2021 and started my own private practice (www.degrafftherapy.com). It was NOT a romantic departure– I was burnt out and had to do something different for my own mental health. My boss had also just left and started her own private practice (Rachel Garner, rachelgarnercounseling.com), and mentored/coached/empowered me to do it for myself. Not long after I was up and rolling independently, I got another call from Dr. Garcia but this time it wasn’t about asinine corporate tactics, he said LETS DO IT. By April 2023, Comprehensive Mental Health saw it’s first clients.
From day one, the mission was clear: provide exceptional, evidenced-based, and deeply human mental health care. CMH brings together talk therapists, psychiatrists, and nurse practitioners to offer both psychotherapy (talk therapy) and psychiatry (medical/medicine intervention). It is a model grounded in research and outcomes– the combination of therapy and medication has consistently shown to yield the best mental health outcomes.
While we provide really good mental health care, I think that the thing that actually sets Comprehensive Mental Health apart is our commitment to the people behind the care. Dr. Garcia and I refuse to replicate the exploitative “big-box” model of mental health care that dominates the field and is often funded by private equity and non-clinicians. These places charge clients premium rates while clinicians are underpaid and overworked. At CMH, every team provider is paid generously, offered benefits, and given agency over their practice. We work hard and play harder (you should see our pool parties!). We take care of the people who take care of our community. We are a company built not out of corporate or financial ambition, but from a desire to create a space where we wanted to work, and in turn where humans (staff and clients) WANT to be.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In many ways, the human side of building Comprehensive Mental Health has been remarkably smooth. Our team is truly the heart of this place—every single one of our providers has hit meaningful milestones, whether that’s growing into a full-time caseload, earning a higher license, or finding a healthy balance between their work and family life. Watching them thrive has been one of the most rewarding parts of this journey.
That said, the hardest part—by far—has been dealing with insurance companies. They often make it incredibly challenging for clients to access the care they need, and for providers to get reimbursed fairly for the work they do. It sometimes feels like the system is set up to make quality care as difficult as possible to deliver.
The other big challenge is visibility. Competing against the massive “big-box” therapy platforms that flood the market with paid advertising can make it tough for smaller, values-driven clinics like ours to be heard. We don’t pay for advertising (something we are very proud of); we’ve built our reputation on something money can’t buy: quality care, integrity, and word-of-mouth trust within the Austin community.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Comprehensive Mental Health is an interdisciplinary mental health clinic based in South Austin, dedicated to providing compassionate, evidence-based care for individuals and families across every stage of life—from womb to tomb.
Our team includes local therapists, psychiatrists, and nurse practitioners who work collaboratively to support both the emotional and biological aspects of mental health. We provide talk therapy for individuals (adults, teens, and littles), couples, and families, as well as psychiatric evaluation, diagnosis, and medication management—all under one roof. This integrated model allows us to deliver truly comprehensive care, grounded in research showing that the best outcomes come from combining therapy with proper medication management and consistent follow-up.
We’re in-network with most major insurance providers and offer both in-person sessions at our South Austin office (near the Belterra neighborhood) and virtual appointments across the entire state of Texas.
What really sets us apart, though, is our culture. We’re deeply committed to taking care of the people who take care of our community. Unlike many large, corporate mental-health platforms that prioritize volume over value, we intentionally keep our caseloads reasonable, pay our providers fair wages, and offer full-time W-2 employment with benefits. We believe that when clinicians feel supported, clients receive better care—and our clients feel that difference every day.
Brand-wise, we’re most proud of our authenticity. We’re not a tech company disguised as a therapy platform—we’re real humans who live and work in Austin, showing up for real people in our community. Our mission is simple: to make excellent mental health care accessible, sustainable, and human.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Be your authentic self. Don’t try to impress a mentor—or anyone in your network, for that matter. You don’t need to become a “mini-me” version of the people you look up to. In fact, as a mentor myself, I actually prefer when my mentees are different from me. Those differences create space for mutual learning and growth, and I often find myself learning just as much from them as they do from me.
When it comes to networking, I like to keep it local—literally in my own backyard. For me, networking isn’t about fancy events or business cards; it’s about real connection. You might wonder how a therapist “networks” with her neighbor who happens to be a retired schoolteacher. Well, I listen, I relate, and I show up authentically. Over time, that genuine relationship builds trust—and before I know it, she’s telling her friends and family about our clinic and sending them our way.
At the end of the day, networking isn’t about strategy; it’s about sincerity. Be kind, be curious, and be yourself (even if you’re a little weird!)—people are drawn to that more than any slimy elevator pitch.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.comp-mh.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comprehensive_mental_health/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Comprehensive-Mental-Health-100092294005680/
