Aliza Castro, LCSW

Aliza Castro is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 29 years of experience. She focuses on helping people who face substance use and co-occurring mental health challenges. She aims to create a calm, nonjudgmental space where people can talk about what matters to them and set clear goals.

Her work emphasizes practical skills and steady progress. She uses cognitive behavioral methods alongside client-centered and mindfulness approaches to help people notice patterns, manage strong feelings, and try new coping steps. Sessions are paced to each person so changes feel manageable.

Aliza often supports people dealing with anxiety, depression, bipolar mood concerns, and addictions. She also helps with grief, workplace stress, parenting strain, and issues around identity such as adoption and attachment concerns. Her practice includes attention to impulsivity, process addictions, and compassion fatigue.

Her style is compassionate and goal-directed. She listens first, then helps people choose small, doable steps that build toward larger changes. Motivational interviewing and solution-focused techniques are used to sharpen motivation and identify quick gains.

Clients can expect straightforward, down-to-earth conversation about daily challenges. Aliza works collaboratively to develop coping tools, problem-solving strategies, and a plan that fits each person’s life. She provides care from Connecticut and offers sessions in English for both local and international clients.

How therapy approaches translate to online care

Aliza draws on cognitive behavioral therapy to help people identify unhelpful thinking and try practical experiments to change behavior and mood. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, addictions, and managing strong emotions.

She also uses client-centered therapy which emphasizes listening and building a supportive relationship. This approach helps people feel heard while they set goals at their own pace. Mindfulness therapy is used to teach simple attention and grounding exercises that reduce reactivity and improve focus.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will discuss your needs, goals, and preferences and recommend which methods to try first. Plans are adjusted over time based on what works for you.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video sessions let you work face to face from a distance, phone calls can fit a break at work or require less bandwidth, live chat supports quick check-ins, and messaging is handy for short updates or reflections between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life while keeping the focus on progress and practical skills.