Alex Ochs

Office Hours: by appointment only (in person, or Zoom). Please email me to schedule.

Dr. Alex Ochs (he/him) is a licensed clinical social worker with more than a decade of direct practice experience in pediatric and adult HIV health and mental health care settings and private practice. His clinical experience includes providing psychotherapy and integrated behavioral health care to individuals with chronic illness and disabilities, trauma, and mental health challenges. Influenced by relational, psychodynamic, and humanistic approaches, his clinical work emphasizes the therapeutic relationship as central to growth and healing. His practice experience deeply influences his research and teaching.

Broadly, Dr. Ochs's research examines health disparities and equity among LGBTQ+ individuals and vulnerable youth populations. More specifically, his work focuses on HIV and STI prevention among youth experiencing homelessness and explores how their social networks, including family, peers, intimate partners, and service providers shape access to sexual health care. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, he studies the social and structural factors that impact health decisions and outcomes. His work ultimately aims to guide the development of policies and programs that remove barriers to care and strengthen sexual health equity for marginalized youth.

Dr. Ochs approaches teaching as a relational and collaborative process. He believes learning happens best in community and when students feel safe to ask questions, challenge ideas, and connect theory to real life practice situations. His classes emphasize applied learning and honest critical reflection. Drawing from more than a decade of clinical practice, he uses case examples and experiential activities to help students see how social work theory translates into everyday practice. Courses he teaches in the MSW program include Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Psychopathology and Trauma, Research Methods for Practitioners, and Trauma-Informed Seminar.

Dr. Ochs holds a PhD in Social Work from the University of Denver, an MSS (MSW-equivalent) from Bryn Mawr College, and a BSW from Elizabethtown College. He also completed the three-year adult psychodynamic psychotherapy training program at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia.

• HIV and STI Prevention
• Youth Experiencing Homelessness
• Social Networks
• Community-Engaged Research
• Egocentric Social Network Analysis
• Clinical Social Work
• Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Ochs CV