Alison McCandless, LCSW, CSW

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 settings and brings a practical, down-to-earth style to sessions.

She works with people facing stress, anxiety, depression, mood disorders, trauma, and substance concerns. Alison also helps with relationship and family matters, grief, career stress, eating and body issues, and workplace problems. She draws on a mix of approaches to match what each person needs.

In sessions she blends skills training with conversations about life history. That means she will teach concrete coping strategies while also asking about past experiences to help make sense of current patterns. She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, attachment-based ideas, motivational interviewing, and psychodynamic thinking as tools.

Alison’s background includes three years at a community mental health agency in Chicago, where she worked with people facing financial and social stressors alongside mental health symptoms. She is licensed in Illinois and Colorado and practices in Colorado.

Her approach is nonjudgmental and hopeful. She focuses on practical changes people can try between sessions while also exploring deeper meaning when that feels helpful. If someone is looking for straightforward support and new coping options, she offers a collaborative space to begin that work.

How evidence-based approaches work online

Alison uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people identify unhelpful thoughts and try small behavioral changes. CBT is practical and works well for anxiety, depression, and mood challenges. She also uses Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills to teach emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and relationship effectiveness in clear step-by-step ways.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Alison will talk with the client about goals, try options, and adjust methods based on what is most helpful. That collaborative process helps match CBT or DBT skills with deeper exploration when needed.

Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different routines. Video calls let people use visual cues and practice skills in real time. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text are useful for brief check-ins, homework review, or when a short connection between meetings helps maintain momentum.