Meet Akiva
Akiva S. Harris, MS, LPC
CEO & Clinical Director
“My goal is to help you create a life that feels as peaceful on the inside as it appears successful on the outside.”
Her story
People often ask me why I became a therapist.
The answer is simple, but deeply personal.
I know this work is part of my purpose.
It’s more than a career. It’s a calling. It’s divine assignment.
Growing up, I witnessed how trauma, adversity, and limited opportunities shape the way people see themselves and what they believe is possible for their lives. Over time, I began to recognize something else—many of us, especially within the Black community, have inherited stories that tell us survival is enough. That struggle is normal. That peace, joy, abundance, and emotional well-being belong to someone else, and are outside of our reach.
I don’t believe that’s true.
I believe healing begins when we challenge those false narratives.
When we begin to see ourselves differently.
When we remember that our lives can be defined by more than pain or perseverance.
Beyond Limits was created from that belief.
“
In 2019, while climbing a live volcano in Santorini, Greece, I found myself wanting to quit. Every step challenged the limits I had placed on myself. Reaching the summit reminded me that many of the barriers we face aren’t physical—they’re the stories we’ve learned to believe about ourselves. That experience inspired the name Beyond Limits Mental Health & Wellness and continues to shape the work I do today: helping people move beyond fear, old patterns, and the beliefs that keep them from living fully.
My vision has always been larger than helping people cope. I want people to heal deeply enough to build lives filled with peace, purpose, healthy relationships, and possibilities they may have never believed were available to them.
Because I believe the greatest limits we experience are often the ones we’ve been taught to accept.
And when those limits begin to fall away…
everything changes.
A Little More About Me
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified in Prolonged Exposure Therapy, and the CEO and Clinical Director of Beyond Limits Mental Health & Wellness. After more than a decade of helping individuals and families heal from trauma, anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, and life transitions, I remain just as passionate today as when I began. My approach blends evidence-based care with compassion, cultural understanding, and the belief that every person has the capacity to heal and thrive.
I believe healing isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about returning to the person you were always meant to be.
- MS, Chestnut Hill College
- LPC — PA & NJ
- Certified, Prolonged Exposure Therapy
Mission
Our mission is to provide culturally responsive, evidence-based therapy that helps individuals heal at the root, break free from patterns that no longer serve them, and create lives marked by peace, purpose, and lasting emotional wellness.
Vision
Our vision is to become a premier healing and wellness center where evidence-based mental health care, holistic healing practices, and community-centered services come together to transform lives, strengthen families, and inspire generational healing.
Care from people who get it.
Akiva S. Harris, MS, LPC — CEO & Clinical Director
Dana Pierre Paul, MS, LAMFT
Marriage & Family Therapist
- Individuals, couples, and families
- Mindfulness, meditation, and sound healing
- Certified in Sound Healing and Prolonged Exposure Treatment
Robert King Graves, MSW, LSW
Mental Health Clinician
- High-functioning adults
- Anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, life transitions
- Children — art-based interventions
Izzy Vazquez, MHS, LCADC, LAPC
Clinician, Administrator & Educator
- Substance use, addiction, co-occurring mental health conditions
- Bilingual — English and Spanish
- More than 25 years of experience in behavioral health