Alison McCandless, LCSW, CSW

Alison McCandless is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who recently relocated to Denver, Colorado. She has three years of experience working in community mental health, most recently in Chicago, and holds LCSW licensure in both Illinois and Colorado. Alison focuses on practical support for everyday struggles and longer-term concerns alike.

She helps people manage stress, anxiety, depression, bipolar symptoms, and trauma. She also works with concerns such as grief, addiction, relationship and family tension, eating and anger issues, and workplace or career strain. Thoughts and everyday habits are a clear focus in her work with clients.

Alison adapts her approach to each person. She draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify unhelpful thinking and habits, Dialectical Behavior Therapy to build coping skills, and psychodynamic ideas to trace patterns back to earlier experiences. Motivational Interviewing and attachment-based perspectives also shape her sessions when helpful.

In session she balances skill-building with taking time to hear a person’s history. Alison uses a biopsychosocial lens to understand how symptoms affect daily functioning and to guide treatment priorities. The goal is to connect what’s happening now with its roots and to develop manageable steps forward.

She describes her work as nonjudgmental and hopeful. Parents and caregivers looking for clear strategies and thoughtful listening may find her style approachable. To begin, readers should confirm current session options and scheduling details before booking.

How Alison’s approaches translate to online work

Alison uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy as core tools. CBT focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts and everyday habits that keep problems going. It is often helpful for anxiety, depression, and workplace or school struggles. DBT emphasizes building concrete coping skills for strong emotions, distress tolerance, and improving interpersonal effectiveness, which can help with anger, relationship strain, and self-regulation.

She also draws on attachment-based ideas to look at how early relationships shape current patterns. This can help when abandonment, communication problems, or attachment issues are showing up in someone's life. Finding the right mix of methods is collaborative; the therapist will work with each person to decide which approaches fit their goals and preferences.

If you are considering online sessions, confirm the current session options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It also supports carrying learned skills into daily routines between sessions. The therapist will discuss practical arrangements and tailor the plan to what works best for the client's life and goals.