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AJ Portrait of Alyson Johnson

Alyson Johnson

Supportive LCSW blending strengths and practical skills

About Alyson

Alyson Johnson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with 12 years of professional experience based in Illinois. She combines a background in recreation with clinical social work to help clients move toward greater well-being, drawing on practical strengths and everyday routines to make progress meaningful and sustainable.

Background and approach

Alyson emphasizes that people are worthy of love and belonging and partners with clients to identify goals and the small steps that lead there. Her approach is collaborative and strengths-focused, honoring clients' self-knowledge while offering guidance and evidence-informed strategies.

Alyson works with concerns that include addictions, depression, anxiety, grief, stress, anger, bipolar disorder, and issues around self-esteem and life purpose. Additional focuses include divorce and separation, drug and alcohol addiction, workplace issues, forgiveness, guilt and shame, isolation, and coaching for career or life transitions.

She offers a warm, encouraging style intended to help clients tap into their existing resources while learning new skills for coping and change. Alyson aims to help people create more fulfilling days by addressing barriers one piece at a time and building toward lasting improvements in mood, relationships, and daily functioning.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Client-centered therapy focuses on meeting clients where they are, listening carefully, and helping people identify their own goals and values to guide change. This approach supports issues like low self-esteem, life purpose questions, and general coping by building on strengths and personal insight.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) offers practical tools to identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, making it useful for anxiety, depression, and stress-related concerns. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) emphasizes emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness skills, which can be helpful for intense emotions, anger, and relationship-related challenges.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and the therapist will collaborate with each client to determine which methods best match their needs, goals, and preferences. This collaborative assessment helps shape a plan that combines supportive listening with evidence-informed techniques.

Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which increase flexibility for scheduling and make it easier to attend sessions from varied locations. These formats allow licensed professionals to provide consistent care using approaches like CBT and DBT while adapting session style to what works best for each client.

Frequently asked questions

What concerns does Alyson commonly address?
She works with addictions, self esteem struggles, depression, compassion fatigue, stress, anxiety, grief, anger, bipolar disorder, and coping with life changes. Additional focuses include divorce and separation, drug and alcohol addiction, forgiveness, guilt and shame, isolation and workplace issues.
What is her therapeutic style and approach?
Her style is collaborative and strengths-focused, using client-centered principles together with modalities such as CBT, DBT, motivational interviewing, and solution-focused techniques to tailor care to each client's needs.
How much clinical experience does she have?
Alyson brings 12 years of experience in behavioral health and related work, drawing on both a recreation background and social work training to support clients' day-to-day well-being.
What credentials and location are listed for this therapist?
She is an LCSW licensed in Illinois with license numbers IL LCSW 149023407 and UT LCSW 13884535-3501 and practices from Illinois.
In which languages can clients work with her and is international work available?
Sessions are offered in English, and she accepts international clients as part of her practice.
What session formats does she provide?
Available session formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to accommodate different preferences and schedules.
How are costs and billing handled?
Cost varies with client location and therapist availability; sessions are provided through a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What steps are involved in getting started?
To begin, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a session according to the therapist's availability.