Alaina Bigger , LISW, LCSW

Alaina Bigger is a licensed clinical social worker who holds both LCSW and LISW credentials - Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Independent Social Worker. She is licensed to practice in California and Ohio and brings a strengths-based, collaborative approach to clients navigating life's challenges.

Alaina works with people facing stress and anxiety, relationship and family conflicts, grief and loss, depression, trauma and abuse, parenting concerns, anger and self-esteem issues, career questions, ADHD, and other life transitions. She also supports clients dealing with adoption and foster care issues, blended family dynamics, commitment and communication problems, divorce and separation, guilt and shame, impulsivity, isolation and loneliness, mood disorders including seasonal affective disorder, self-harm, and social anxiety.

Her clinical work draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to address patterns of thought and behavior, psychodynamic ideas to explore deeper emotional themes, and systemic therapy to understand and shift family and relational dynamics. Alaina enjoys working with both individuals and families to provide a holistic perspective that honors each person’s experience. She emphasizes that each person is the expert of their own story and seeks to build on existing strengths to meet difficult moments. Taking the first step toward therapy can require courage, and Alaina acknowledges and supports that commitment to change.

Evidence-Based Approaches for Online Therapy

Alaina uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help clients identify and shift unhelpful thought and behavior patterns; this approach is often applied to anxiety, depression, and stress-related concerns. She also integrates psychodynamic ideas to explore how past experiences and emotional patterns influence present reactions, which can be useful for understanding relationship difficulties and emotional wounds. In addition, systemic therapy focuses on family and relational systems, helping clients and families change patterns of interaction and communication to improve functioning.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the work itself. Alaina approaches treatment collaboratively, tailoring techniques to each person’s needs, goals, and preferences, and adjusting the plan over time to ensure the best fit for the client and their situation.

Online therapy with Alaina can take place by video call, phone session, live chat, or text-based messaging, offering flexibility for clients with busy schedules, caregiving responsibilities, or mobility limitations. These options make it easier to maintain consistency in care, access support from different locations, and choose the format that feels most comfortable for each stage of the therapeutic process.