- Years in practice
- 9
- Credentials
- LCSW
- Licensed in
- Illinois
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Relationship issues
- Focus
- Trauma and abuse
About Alisa
Alisa Neary is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with nine years of experience who focuses on supporting people through parenting challenges and other life stressors. She approaches sessions with warmth and directness, helping clients sort through overwhelming emotions and practical decisions. Her style aims to make conversations feel calm and useful for day-to-day life.
Alisa works with people coping with anxiety, depression, grief, trauma and abuse, and the fallout from difficult relationships.
Background and approach
She helps clients notice unhelpful thought patterns and build small, manageable habits that improve mood and functioning. Parents can expect straightforward strategies for balancing their needs with caregiving demands. Her approach leans on Client-Centered Therapy, which centers the client's goals and experience, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which looks at links between thoughts, feelings and behavior.
She also uses Mindfulness Therapy and Narrative Therapy techniques to help people stay present and reframe their stories. Motivational Interviewing is used when someone is weighing change and needs a clearer plan. Alisa draws on a background in helping people recover from interpersonal violence and abusive relationships.
She helps reduce post-traumatic stress symptoms, lower self-blame, and build self-esteem. The work often includes learning to recognize healthier relationship patterns and realistic next steps. Sessions are offered in English and take place with Illinois-licensed care.
Her tone is nonjudgmental and collaborative, aiming to restore personal agency and practical coping skills. If a parent wants clear tools and empathic support, Alisa focuses on helping people move forward in everyday life.
What Alisa works with
Everything Alisa lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Alisa helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
- Self esteem
- Coping with life changes
- LGBT
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Depression
- Compassion fatigue
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Guilt and shame
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Women's issues
Approaches Alisa lists
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online care
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and following the client's priorities. Online sessions using this approach let clients set the pace and topics, whether they want to focus on parenting stress or relationship boundaries. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, breaks problems into thoughts, feelings and actions and uses simple exercises to change patterns. Online CBT often uses short homework, thought records, and concrete behavior experiments between sessions to produce steady progress.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk through goals and preferences, try methods that fit the client's situation, and adjust when something isn't helpful. That partnership helps tailor techniques to parenting demands, trauma recovery, or day-to-day stressors.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which makes scheduling easier. Video is useful for deeper conversation and visual cues, phone works when bandwidth is limited, live chat suits shorter check-ins, and messaging supports brief, ongoing work between sessions. These options help people fit therapy into busy lives and keep momentum on the issues that matter.
Questions people ask about Alisa
What concerns does she help with?
Alisa supports people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, trauma and abuse, relationship strain, parenting worries, and related issues like anger and career stress.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her style is person-centered and collaborative, using clear, practical strategies from cognitive behavioral and mindfulness approaches to address thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
What professional background does she bring?
She has nine years of clinical experience and a long background supporting people who have experienced interpersonal violence and abusive relationships.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is an LCSW - Licensed Clinical Social Worker - and practices with an Illinois license.
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available?
Sessions can be delivered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging.
How does cost and billing work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Begin by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions based on the therapist's availability.
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