Dr. Alethea Varra is a licensed clinical psychologist and Senior Vice President of Clinical Care for Lyra Health. She serves as the senior mental health executive over all therapy programs and is responsible for driving overall clinical strategy and oversight of clinical quality, training, and service delivery. This includes driving unparalleled access to comprehensive mental health services to over 15 million people globally.
Prior to Lyra Alethea spent 17 years at the Department of Veteran Affairs where she served in various clinical and administrative leadership positions including as the Director of the Evaluation and Brief Treatment PTSD Unit at the VA Puget Sound, Director for the National Telemental Health Hub, Continental Region, and most recently as the Chief Mental Health Officer for VISN 19, Rocky Mountain Network. While there she served as the chief mental health executive over all regional mental health operations for Behavioral Health and was responsible for program oversight and compliance, public relations, systemic and internal reviews, and strategic vision for behavioral health for the Rocky Mountain Network including 71 Medical Centers and Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs).
Alethea received her bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and doctorate degree in clinical psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno. She completed her internship training at VA Puget Sound Healthcare System and a research fellowship at the Mental Illness Research and Education Center (MIRECC) in Seattle. She has over 20 years of experience in mental health and clinical operations. Her focus is on healthcare innovation and program development and she is passionate about improving access to evidenced based mental health care, especially to underserved populations.