Sara McAlister, LCSW
About me
Hello!
My name is Sara McAlister. I graduated from Syracuse University with my Master's in Social Work and have been a practicing Social Worker for 7 years. I have worked with a wide variety of populations including children and teens, adults, families, current and formerly incarcerated people, trauma survivors, and individuals who have Developmental Disabilities. I have experience working with a broad range of concerns including treating those with Developmental Disabilities, Personality Disorders, Substance Abuse concerns, Bipolar Disorder, and Schizophrenia, but I specialize in working with people suffering from Depression and Anxiety, victims of abuse and trauma, and with formerly incarcerated individuals and their families.
I believe therapy should be a collaborative process. I am there to guide you, but I truly don't believe that therapy can be successful unless you are an active participant. If you've ever heard the old adage "if you give a man a fish he'll eat for a day, but if you teach him to fish he'll eat for a lifetime", that's a good way to describe how I approach therapy. My job is to guide and support you, but if the goals we're working toward achieving aren't meaningful to you then the therapy won't be as effective. I use a combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy to help you change destructive or unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaviors to improve the way you feel. If you are seeing me for treatment related to experiencing a traumatic incident, then I may also recommend the use of Cognitive Processing Therapy to help you examine how you think about your trauma and figure out new ways to live with it. I will always explain any treatment technique that I recommend so that you can understand why I think that technique would be beneficial to your situation. Therapy is a very interactive process and I am truly looking forward to getting to know you and to help you reach your goals!
Professional experience
Additional areas of focus: Addictions, Relationship issues, Family conflicts, Grief, Intimacy-related issues, Parenting issues, Anger management, Career difficulties, Bipolar disorder, Compassion fatigue, ADHD, Antisocial Personality, Attachment Issues, Communication Problems, Drug and Alcohol Addiction, Family Problems, Fertility Issues, Impulsivity, Intellectual Disability, Mood Disorders, Panic Disorder and Panic Attacks, Personality Disorders, Postpartum Depression, Post-traumatic Stress, Pregnancy and Childbirth, Women's Issues, Workplace Issues, Young Adult Issues
Clinical approaches: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Trauma-Focused Therapy
License information
NY LCSW 089034