About Alison
Alison McCandless is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who recently relocated to Colorado after three years working in community mental health in Chicago. She holds an Illinois and a Colorado LCSW and brings practical experience helping people manage mood changes, anxiety, trauma, addiction, and work-related stress. Alison prioritizes listening so each person’s story is heard and understood.
She uses straightforward, actionable techniques alongside deeper exploration of life history. That means building coping skills and also looking at how past events shape current feelings and choices.
Background and approach
Alison leans on therapies that focus on relationships, thinking patterns, and emotional regulation to tailor sessions to each person’s needs. Sessions typically begin with a clear look at functioning and symptoms using a biopsychosocial approach. This helps set concrete goals and track progress.
She balances short-term problem solving with attention to longer-term patterns that matter for recovery and growth. Alison aims to create a nonjudgmental space where people can talk through grief, relationship strain, work stress, mood disorders, and questions about life purpose. She addresses issues like abandonment, attachment concerns, caregiver stress, eating and food-related problems, and grief with practical supports and exploration.
Her background in community settings means she is familiar with challenges faced by people with limited resources and complex needs. If someone is seeking a therapist who combines skill-building with thoughtful attention to history, Alison offers that collaborative approach.
How Alison blends proven approaches for online care
Alison often uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people spot and change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns. CBT is practical and works well for anxiety, depression, and stress by breaking problems into manageable steps.She also draws on Dialectical Behavior Therapy techniques to teach emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal skills. DBT tools can be useful for intense emotions, relationship conflict, and improving daily coping.
Finding the right mix of methods is part of the process. Alison works together with each person to decide which approaches fit their goals and preferences. That collaboration guides how sessions are structured and which skills are prioritized.
Online formats give flexibility for busy lives. Video calls let people have a face-to-face conversation from different locations. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging are useful for quick updates, homework support, or when writing feels more comfortable than speaking. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent while fitting around work, caregiving, or other commitments.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Bipolar disorder
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Life purpose
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 3 years
- Licensed
- Illinois, Colorado
- Languages
- English