Alanna Kardon-Alkalay, LCSW

Alanna Kardon-Alkalay is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 15 years of experience based in New York. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, depression, ADHD, parenting challenges, and relationship or intimacy concerns. Her style is collaborative and down-to-earth. She aims to build trust and meet people where they are.

Alanna trained at Fordham University where she learned individual counseling and family systems work. She has experience in schools, community agencies, and adult mental health programs. Much of her private practice has focused on adults seeking help for mood concerns, eating issues, trauma, and life transitions.

She often uses cognitive behavioral therapy, which looks at thoughts and behaviors that keep problems going. She also draws on client-centered and mindfulness approaches to help people notice the present moment and build on their strengths. Narrative and psychodynamic ideas sometimes guide how she helps clients make sense of their past.

In sessions she listens first, then helps create a plan shaped by the client's goals. Plans change as needs shift, and Alanna adjusts her approach over time. She encourages practical steps people can try between visits and checks in about what is and is not helping.

Her work emphasizes dignity, integrity, and respect. She helps people deal with grief, trauma, addiction concerns, caregiver stress, codependency, and issues around identity and purpose. The aim is clearer thinking, steadier coping, and a stronger sense of direction.

How Alanna brings CBT and mindfulness to online care

Alanna commonly uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help people identify unhelpful thought patterns and try small behavior changes that reduce symptoms. CBT is hands-on and problem-focused, which can be useful for anxiety, depression, ADHD challenges, and worry about daily life.

She also uses client-centered techniques that prioritize the person's experience and choices. This approach focuses on listening, reflecting, and supporting a client's own goals rather than following a fixed agenda. Mindfulness practices are offered as simple exercises to help with stress, grounding, and noticing patterns in the body and mind.

Finding the right mix of approaches is a team effort. She will talk with each person about goals, try methods that fit those aims, and adjust the plan as progress or needs change. Clients help decide which tools feel most helpful and practical.

Online therapy offers flexibility in how people connect. Video sessions let therapists and clients see nonverbal cues, phone sessions can be easier when a quieter space is needed, live chat allows quick check-ins, and text-based messaging supports brief updates or reflection between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, caregiving, or busy schedules while still working on real issues.