Alison McCandless

Alison McCandless is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who recently relocated to Denver, Colorado. She has three years of clinical experience working in community mental health and holds licenses in Illinois and Colorado. Alison focuses on practical support for people coping with stress, mood concerns, trauma, and eating and food-related issues.

Her work often begins with hearing a person's story and collecting a clear history. She uses a biopsychosocial assessment to understand how symptoms affect daily life and functioning. That helps guide what to try next.

Alison blends different approaches to match each person's needs. She draws on cognitive behavioral techniques to address unhelpful thoughts and DBT strategies to build coping skills. She also uses psychodynamic ideas to help people make sense of patterns that repeat over time.

Sessions tend to include skill practice, behavior-focused strategies, and discussion about past experiences when that seems useful. Alison aims to be direct and nonjudgmental while keeping hope present in the work. Her background includes supporting people with anxiety, depression, bipolar symptoms, addictions, grief, relationship and workplace problems, and caregiver stress.

People who value a mix of concrete skill building and exploration of life story may find her approach helpful. The next step is to complete the site matching questionnaire and schedule a session to see if the fit feels right.

How therapeutic approaches shape online work

Alison often combines cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy in her work. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps people notice and test thoughts that contribute to anxiety or low mood and teaches practical steps to change unhelpful patterns. Dialectical behavior therapy emphasizes skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and improving communication when feelings run high.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Alison will talk with each person about their goals, preferences, and what has or hasn't helped in the past. Together they decide which methods to emphasize and adjust the plan as progress unfolds.

The biography does not specify which online session formats are offered, so confirm current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when schedules are tight. Some people prefer sessions that focus on practicing skills and short behavioral homework between meetings, while others use the time to connect threads from their personal history. Licensed professionals can tailor the mix of teaching, practice, and reflection to what works for each person.