Leah Alcid - Clinician
Leah Alcid is a Board-Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with a multidisciplinary background in behavioral health, nursing, and psychiatry.
Leah Alcid
Clinician
MA, MSN, PMHNP-BC
Leah earned her MA in Personality and Psychopathology from Teachers College, Columbia University, and her MS in Nursing from Columbia University.
Before completing her post-master’s education in psychiatric mental health nursing at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Leah spent seven years as a registered nurse, developing a strong medical and clinical foundation across emergency medicine, medical-surgical nursing, geriatric telemetry, medical detoxification, and forensic psychiatry. She gained emergency medicine experience at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medicine, where she cared for patients experiencing acute psychiatric crises and substance-related emergencies, including overdoses. These experiences strengthened her ability to assess and stabilize patients in crisis and deepened her understanding of the complex relationship between medical conditions, substance use, and psychiatric symptoms.
Leah joined Avatar because of her strong interest in treating co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders, with additional clinical interests in trauma and trauma-related disorders, complex mood and anxiety disorders, and interventional psychiatric treatment. She takes a collaborative and individualized approach to care, considering each person as a whole, including their early life experiences, trauma, relationships, substance use, and medical conditions that may influence their mental health.
Leah believes effective psychiatric care extends beyond medication management. She works collaboratively with patients to develop individualized treatment plans and empowers them through education, helping them better understand their symptoms, the biological processes that may contribute to their experiences, and how medication and other therapeutic approaches can support recovery. She is particularly passionate about substance use treatment and believes that educating families about addiction and mental health can help them better understand their loved ones, navigate the challenges of recovery, and provide meaningful support. Her goal is not simply to reduce symptoms, but to help patients develop greater self-understanding and compassion, reconnect with their strengths, build the skills to navigate life’s challenges, and ultimately create a life they feel proud of.
