About Alexandra
Alexandra Calestini is a licensed clinical social worker in New York with 12 years of experience. She focuses on stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and helping people build self-esteem and self-compassion. Her approach is warm and direct, aimed at helping parents and individuals find practical ways forward.
Alex uses straightforward conversation to identify what feels most urgent. She listens closely, then lays out clear steps you can try between sessions.
Background and approach
That may include small behavior changes, new ways to handle difficult feelings, or skills to steady anxiety. Her work draws on Client-Centered principles and cognitive-behavioral techniques to help people make sense of thoughts and habits. She also uses Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills and mindfulness practices to teach emotional regulation and present-moment focus.
Motivational Interviewing helps when someone feels stuck or unsure about change. Alex values respect, authenticity, and cultural awareness. She aims to create a calm space where difficult topics can be named and worked through without judgment.
She offers practical tools alongside empathic listening. Over the years she has helped people address issues such as abandonment, attachment concerns, body image, caregiver stress, codependency, dissociation, and relationship breakdowns. Her style is collaborative and paced to each person’s needs, with an emphasis on what will help day-to-day functioning.
Sessions are offered in English and conducted online by video, phone, chat, or text. People who are ready to start follow a short matching questionnaire to find a good fit.
Therapeutic approaches for online care
Alex uses Client-Centered Therapy to create a respectful, listening space where a person’s concerns guide the work. This approach focuses on understanding each person’s perspective and building a trusting connection that supports change.She also draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and actions. CBT helps identify unhelpful thinking patterns and introduces simple behavioral changes to reduce anxiety and lift mood. Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills are used to teach emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and effective communication when feelings run high.
Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Alexandra will talk with each person about goals, try different strategies, and adjust the plan over time so it fits with what actually helps in day-to-day life.
Online work can make scheduling easier and more flexible. Video calls allow for face-to-face conversation and visual cues, phone sessions work when bandwidth is limited, and chat or text messaging lets people check-in between sessions or use brief check-ins during a busy day. These options help fit therapy into real routines while keeping the focus on practical change.
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she address?
What is her therapy style like?
How much experience does she have?
What are her credentials and location?
Which languages are sessions offered in?
What session formats are available?
How does cost and billing work?
How do I get started?
Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Attachment issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 12 years
- Licensed
- New York
- Languages
- English