Alisa Neary , LCSW

Alisa Neary is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who helps people facing stress, anxiety, trauma, relationship challenges, and women's issues. She works with adults who are coping with grief, parenting stress, career strain, and the emotional fallout from abuse and separation. Alisa uses a calm, person-focused style and speaks English. She practices from Illinois and brings nine years of clinical experience to her work.

Alisa aims to make therapy feel safe and nonjudgmental. She listens first, then helps people name what matters and set clear goals. Sessions focus on reducing symptoms like anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress and on rebuilding self-esteem and self-acceptance.

Her approach draws on client-centered methods that prioritize the person's own strengths and choices. Alisa also uses cognitive behavioral techniques to help change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. Mindfulness and narrative methods are woven in to support grounding and to reframe personal stories when that helps the work.

People often come to her after leaving or during difficult relationships, after sexual assault or domestic violence, or during divorce and separation. She helps reduce self-blame, recognize unhealthy patterns, and practice new ways of relating to oneself and others.

Alisa combines practical steps with compassionate listening. She uses motivational interviewing to support change and to build momentum toward personal goals. Her work is focused on helping clients reclaim agency and move toward greater self-love and resilience.

How therapy approaches translate to online care

Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and supporting a person's own goals. In online sessions this means the therapist reflects what the client says, validates feelings, and helps clients choose next steps that fit their life. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) looks at the link between thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches practical skills to change unhelpful patterns; it can be used to address anxiety, depression, and stress through structured online exercises and homework. Mindfulness therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce reactivity and build calm, which can be practiced between video or phone sessions.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences, and day-to-day constraints and then suggest techniques to try. Clients and the therapist adjust methods as needed so the work feels useful and relevant.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for deeper conversation and visual cues, phone sessions work well when bandwidth or movement is an issue, live chat and text let people check in with short updates or do brief therapeutic tasks. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, parenting, or busy schedules while keeping the focus on practical progress.