01 · Who Cynthia works with

Cynthia works with addictions, relationship issues and grief

Cynthia lists 17 specialisms and 19 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Cynthia chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Cynthia's own words

What Cynthia says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in Alabama with 10 years of experience in providing mental health and behavioral counseling in various setting various aspects of counseling. I have worked with individuals ages seven to adult with a variety of mental health/behavioral presenting issues such as depression, anxiety, grief/loss, trauma, Bipolar disorder, Schizophrenia, physical and sexual abuse, domestic violence and addiction, suicide assessment and prevention and many more. I approach the therapeutic relationship with a friendly manner and a warm atmosphere. Many individuals are afraid to seek therapeutic help because of fear. So, I seek to build a therapeutic relationship with friendly trust. I have experience in providing individual counseling, family counseling, group counseling, mental health therapy, crisis intervention, and suicide prevention in the community, in homes and the prison setting. My therapy style is warm and friendly. I think that many individuals forgo meaningful help from therapy because of misconceptions and fear of sharing intimate details with a stranger. I believe that everyone is unique and has the power of choice to make decisions to effect change in their lives. As such, I operate from the theoretical vantage points of Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Reality Therapy Brief Solutions Focused Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing. These frameworks are not written in stone when in a therapeutic relationship with me. I am flexible and open to exploring with the client what has worked in the past for him or her. Therapy sessions with me will be interactive. You can expect that I will listen to you. You can also expect that I will want to hear from you as an expert in yourself. We will work as a team to set your goals and objectives and plan to develop skills to effect change in your life. I know it is not easy to seek therapy and that's why I create a friendly atmosphere in my sessions to address your specific issue (s). So, come on, let's talk about it and find the solution together. It does not matter if it's family issues, mental health issues, identity issues, or addiction issues. Together we can make it better and affect meaningful change in your life.

Specialties Suicide Prevention Depression Anxiety Grief and Loss Bipolar Schizophrenia Addictions and Drug abuse

Also experienced in: Crisis resolution, suicide assessment, and treatment, substance abuse prevention, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Self-image.

Cynthia Allison, on the BetterHelp listing · read 5 Nov 2026

03 · How Cynthia works

The 9 approaches Cynthia lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Cynthia lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Cynthia's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Cynthia runs a session.

Acceptance and Commitment TherapyACT

Rather than trying to argue a painful thought away, ACT works on loosening its grip and getting on with what matters to you anyway. Sessions spend real time naming your values, then building action around them while difficult feelings are still present.

Attachment-Based Therapy

Reads present-day relationship difficulty through the lens of how safety and closeness were learned early on. The therapeutic relationship itself is treated as part of the work, because it is where the pattern tends to show up first.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian

The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.

Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT

Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.

Dialectical Behaviour TherapyDBT

A structured skills-led adaptation of CBT built around holding two things at once: accepting yourself as you are and working to change. Teaches concrete skills for distress tolerance, emotion regulation and relationships. Developed for people whose feelings arrive at overwhelming intensity, and strongest-evidenced there.

Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT

Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.

Motivational InterviewingMI

A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.

Narrative Therapy

Treats the story you tell about your life as something that can be examined and retold rather than as the plain facts. Separates the person from the problem - “the anxiety” rather than “your anxiety” - to make room for the parts the current story leaves out.

Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT

Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Cynthia practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Cynthia's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Cynthia at this point.

2. Naming Cynthia specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Cynthia is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Cynthia.

3. If the caseload is full

   You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

4. The first conversation

   A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

5. If the fit is wrong

   Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

3 questions worth asking Cynthia

Built from what Cynthia actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Cynthia's - Cynthia has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Attachment-Based Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

  Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

• “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

  Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

• “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

  On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LPC

Licensed in

Alabama

Licence

AL LPC LPC03697

Licence number

LPC03697

Licence expires

31 Jul 2028

NPI

1760997662

Years in practice

10

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

29 Oct 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Cynthia's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 5 Nov 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Cynthia. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.