Therapist profile
Alison McCandless, LCSW, CSW
Colorado
Licensed Clinical Social Worker - Anger and Mood concerns
Continue with AlisonKey details
- CredentialsLCSW, CSW
- LicenseLCSW, Illinois / 149024690; LCSW, Colorado / CSW.09929741
- NPI1205611092
- Experience3 years
- LanguagesEnglish
- LocationColorado
About
- CBT techniques
- DBT skills
- Attachment focus
About Alison
Alison McCandless is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with three years of clinical experience. She holds LCSW credentials in Illinois and Colorado and currently practices from Colorado. Alison has worked in community mental health settings and has experience helping people with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, mood disorders, and related concerns including anger and relationship strain.
Her background includes working with low-income clients who faced a wide range of mental health needs. She uses a biopsychosocial assessment to understand functioning and symptom patterns. That assessment helps guide what she focuses on in sessions and what skills she teaches.
Alison draws on a mix of practical strategies and reflective work. She uses cognitive behavioral techniques to identify unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. She also incorporates Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills for emotion regulation and distress tolerance.
She complements skills work with psychodynamic-informed conversations that look at personal history and attachment patterns. Motivational interviewing is used when people want to change habits or address addictive behaviors. Sessions often blend skill practice, behavioral steps, and looking at how past experiences shape current reactions.
People who come to Alison often want clear tools for managing anger, stress at work, or persistent anxiety. She focuses on helping people build coping skills while making sense of patterns that keep recurring. To start, she asks about history, daily functioning, and the problems that feel most urgent.
How sessions work
How her approaches translate to online work
Alison combines Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy in ways that fit remote sessions. CBT focuses on spotting and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors through concrete exercises and practice. That makes it easy to do worksheets, homework, and step-by-step behavior experiments between sessions. DBT teaches emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal skills through short skill coaching and repeated practice, which can be reviewed and reinforced in virtual meetings.She also uses an attachment-informed, psychodynamic lens to understand how early relationships shape current reactions. That work involves talking through patterns and linking history to present-day situations. Finding the right mix of practical skills and reflective work is collaborative - she will help you decide which approaches fit your goals and day-to-day life.
The biography does not list specific session formats, so confirm options before booking. Many people choose online sessions to fit therapy into work breaks, reduce travel time, or focus on short skills check-ins when time is limited. Talk with her during the matching process about the session length and rhythm that best suit your schedule and needs.
Areas of focus
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
3+ years
Listed in
Illinois, Colorado
Languages
English
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, mood disorders, anger, relationship and work issues, and related problems listed in her specialties.
What is her therapy style like?
Her approach mixes skills-based methods and reflective work. Sessions include coping skills, behavior changes, and exploring personal history to connect past and present patterns.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has three years of experience working in community mental health settings, including work with people facing a range of mood, anxiety, trauma, and psychotic concerns.
What are her credentials and where does she practice?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with licensure in Illinois and Colorado and practices from Colorado.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are offered?
Confirm the current session formats before booking, as the biography does not specify which formats are used.
How does pricing work?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Use the See online therapy options button, fill out the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session through the platform.
Details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. A license can be checked with the state board.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If anyone is unsafe, use the crisis numbers.