Alexis McCray, Ed.S, LPC, an Alaskan Native and U.S. Air Force veteran, is breaking barriers in mental health through her practice, Elevated Horizons Mental Health, PLLC. Inspired by her struggle to find culturally understanding care, she built a space where Native Americans and veterans receive therapy that honors identity and experience. Winner of the 2023 BBB Spark Award for community impact, McCray champions accessible, stigma-free healing through outreach, pro bono work, and cultural advocacy. Her mission is simple yet powerful: to prove that representation and empathy can redefine how communities heal.
The Social Digest: Alexis, as an Alaskan Native and military veteran, what inspired you to found Elevated Horizons Mental Health, and how do your personal experiences shape your mission to provide culturally relevant mental health support?
What inspired me to found Elevated Horizons Mental Health was my desire to help others and be a part of the change I wanted to see in my community. I wanted to represent Alaskan Natives in mental health at an executive level. I also saw the need for military mental health providers while I sought out treatment during and after my military service. I wanted to be in control of my own destiny by building an organization that increases visibility of the needs of Native Americans/Alaska Natives. I also didn’t see myself in any of the practices or organizations I worked in during my educational and licensure journey.
Personal experiences that shaped my mission to provide culturally relevant mental health support was not being able to find a Native American/Alaska Native to provide me with support when I was in treatment. I understand the work that has to go into healing and I wanted to be another accessible resource without red tape or referrals which could slow down access to care. I want Alaska Natives to see that we can be leaders in mental health care, not just receivers of care. I was unaware of any Native American/Alaska Native owned practices.
The Social Digest: Your organization was honored with the 2023 Better Business Bureau Spark Award for excellence in service and community impact. Can you share a specific initiative, like your pro bono therapy for flood-affected Texans, that contributed to this recognition?
We are the 2023 Better Business Bureau Spark Award winner for community impact as we were the organization that spearheaded Women Veterans Day celebrations in El Paso County, Texas. In addition, we donated school supplies in support of Veterans Affairs, donating food to Texas National Guard troops tasked with protecting the U.S./Mexico border. Lastly, we have strict ethical standard operating procedures, to including weekly Elevated and Engage meeting where our team meets to discuss critical issues, staff changes, upcoming closures, and establish time to collaborate on projects together.
Most recently, we have opened pro bono therapy services.
The Social Digest: As a woman leader from an underrepresented background, what challenges have you faced in the mental health field, and how have you overcome them to build Elevated Horizons?
Ans: Some challenges I have faced in the mental health field are getting or finding mentorship that supports and challenges my development as a therapy provider and entrepreneur. Another challenge I faced was finding reliable, trustworthy team members to be a part of Elevated Horizons Mental Health that have experience in behavioral health/mental health care. Another challenge is finding patients who pay out of pocket for health care or mental health care treatment. This is critical to us being able to cover operating costs and pay our team and without it puts the practice in financial hardship. Many do not understand how their insurance works or how to access behavioral health services through their insurance and lack understanding of how to use or access their benefits for treatment, including how to get reimbursed from their insurance if they were to pay out of pocket upfront. I have faced the challenge of other providers not offering referrals, even though I have specialized services or cultural competence. I have experienced my peers minimize my military service as irrelevant to being able to treat military/veterans/first responders. Being Alaska Native, award winning, or woman veteran owned has not attracted potential patients to work with Elevated Horizons Mental Health, despite my thinking that it would set my practice apart from others.
I overcome challenges with resilience, positivity, and excitement for new opportunities that arise after overcoming a challenge. Challenges highlight areas of improvement and identify gaps in a process or system that could make a difference in how we deliver care. I like to focus on what the lesson of the challenge could be and use problem solving skills to reduce challenges from repeating themselves. Business is tough and I want Elevated Horizons Mental Health to remain flexible and adjust with the needs of our communities.
The Social Digest: Elevated Horizons emphasizes culturally sensitive care for Native American communities. How do you ensure your services resonate with these communities’ unique cultural needs?
Visibility matters! I work to take up as much space as possible where I can and voice the needs and concerns of Native Americans when I can. Our services are offered telehealth because traveling can be a challenge for Native Americans/Alaska Natives in rural areas. I focus on sharing problems Natives face and detail how Elevated Horizons Mental Health helps with that problem and help them create the image of healing for themselves. I do not impose Western techniques as they were not created to work with Native Americans/Alaska Natives. I emphasize my background and my willingness to move at their pace, at their comfort level, and their speed.
The Social Digest: You’ve addressed the deep stigma around mental health in Native communities. Can you share a strategy or moment where you successfully helped reduce this stigma?
One strategy I use to reduce stigma in Native communities is by building trust. Native communities are more likely to engage in services that are endorsed by their leaders or elders. I ensure marketing materials have language that reduces the “Western” concept perception of therapy.
The Social Digest: Your services, like telehealth and in-home visits, tackle accessibility barriers. How have these approaches transformed mental health care delivery for your clients?
My patients love reciving threapy at home or where they are most comfortable. My ability to meet my patients where they are physically and mentally helps facilitate healing easier because the patient is in an environment they frequent or have the most problems at. Telehealth and home visits are direct versions of treatment that eliminate travel for the patient or them having to use transportation. They begin therapy more relaxed and at ease because there is no added pressure of looking for an office or place to park. This also reduces the number of no-shows and late cancellation requests.
The Social Digest: As a veteran, how do you tailor mental health support for military personnel and their families, and what unique needs do you address in this community?
Before joining the military myself, I was an Army brat. My dad served 24 years in the Army and I joined the military straight out of high school. During my upbringing, 9/11 happened and I witnessed our country come together in patriotism and support of our military like never before. During my military service, I deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2010. These experiences helped me gain first hand knowledge of the sacrifices, hardships, and areas of support that are still needed. Having been a military family member and service member, I have hands-on experience that relates to others’ military service.
I offer Nexus Letters for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Military Sexual Trauma that assists veterans in attaining their disability benefits from injuries incurred from military service. I offer Emotional Support Animal Evaluations to keep veterans/service members with their furry family during travel or relocation. I specialize in moral injury by incorporating Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Interviewing. Therapy for spouses and teens further acknowledges the ripple effect of military service on the family. I offer veteran-to-veteran relatability which can sometimes create instant trust and reduce resistance.
The Social Digest: What emerging trends in mental health care, such as AI or telehealth advancements, do you see shaping the future, and how is Elevated Horizons preparing for them?
We currently see a trend of AI on the rise. Therapists are asking peers how they use AI in their practices, most importantly for treatment planning and note taking of sessions. I joined the conversation by contributing to an article just earlier this year: https://techronicler.com/riding-the-ai-wave-experts-bet-big-on-techs-future-star/
Elevated Horizons Mental Health is learning and evolving with AI. We currently favor ChatGPT. We do not plan to implement AI into therapy sessions as this would require patient’s informed consent on the use of AI. We are looking forward to how AI can automate our processes and reduce our response time to new inquiries, build new processes, and expedite our delivery of services.
The Social Digest: Can you share a story of a client or community you’ve helped through Elevated Horizons that reflects the power of culturally relevant care?
Elevated Horizons Mental Health was presented a certificate from the El Paso County Veteran of the Year as a community partner to the veteran community in 2023. This signifies that El Paso County, Texas acknowledges the work Elevated Horizons Mental Health provides is instrumental to veterans and further details how El Paso County, Texas is the Veteran Capital of the U.S.
The Social Digest: As part of the Texas HUB Program, how do you leverage your Native American owned business status to advocate for equity in mental health care?
The Texas HUB program is designed to ensure historically underutilized businesses are given opportunities to apply for contracts with the state to keep their doors open while acknowledging that these businesses are underutilized. Being a Native American owned business listed in the HUB program allows us increased visibility, contracting opportunities, and partnership potential with state agencies and institutions.
The Social Digest: Looking ahead, what are your goals for Elevated Horizons, and how do you envision the future of mental health support for Native American communities?
The overarching goal of Elevated Horizons Mental Health is to be the best mental health provider in the Southwest United States. Goals are to continue to expand services in new states. Next I would like to be licensed in Alaska, Utah, and Oklahoma with additional virtual practices in each state. We would like to grow our team of providers and support professionals to sustain business growth. We have a financial goal of earning $10,000/month in revenue for 2025. We want to continue offering free or low cost community events throughout the Southwest including retreats and training opportunities for licensed professionals and executives. We hope to build a training facility to host in-person training for therapists in the future. The ultimate goal is to sell Elevated Horizons Mental Health when we reach operational maturity, have a stable team, profitable, so I can pursue other ventures. We hope to be ready to sell by mid-2027.
For Native American communities the goal is to meet and network with more elders and community leaders to educate the importance of mental health wellness and treatment. I do envision an increase in mental health treatment seekers and providers to help Native American communities.
The Social Digest: For women, especially from underrepresented groups, aspiring to lead in mental health or entrepreneurship, what advice would you offer to help them thrive?
My advice: keep moving forward. Business is not personal, don’t sweat the small stuff, be resilient. Disappointments and setbacks will happen. It is important to keep your eye on the prize and don’t overstay your welcome at any place (mentally or physically).
This interview was conducted by Ansh C Vachhani, The Social Digest on 07/10/2025. If you have any interview recommendations or have a story that you want to share with our readers, get in touch with our editor Vedant Bhrambhatt, at editor@thesocialdigest.com
