Dr. Alissa Putman

Dr. Alissa Putman welcomes people who are feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure where to start. She aims to build a calm, respectful space for talking through stress, anger, relationship strain, grief, or shifts in identity. Her short-term goals are practical and focused on what matters most to each person. Putman uses a client-centered stance that keeps the person’s goals in view. She often blends straightforward cognitive-behavioral techniques with ideas from Internal Family Systems to help people notice patterns and try new responses. She also draws on positive psychology and executive coaching ideas for goal setting and steps forward. She has worked for more than 20 years in higher education and healthcare settings. Her experience includes helping people with depression, anxiety, burnout, self-esteem, career questions, parenting concerns, and many kinds of life transitions. She also does volunteer work in suicide prevention education and mentoring for underrepresented teens. Sessions focus on collaboration and regular check-ins about direction and progress. Expect clear, practical conversation about what is working and what to try differently. The approach is flexible and tailored to each person’s needs. Dr. Putman is a psychologist licensed in Maryland and conducts therapy in English. She emphasizes fit between therapist and client and invites people to notice how the work is going as they move forward.

How these approaches guide online work

Client-Centered Therapy centers each person’s concerns and goals, offering a respectful, listening-based approach that helps people feel heard and choose what to work on next. It is useful for relationship strain, self-esteem questions, and figuring out priorities.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, uses practical tools to notice unhelpful thoughts and habits and to practice new responses. This approach often helps with anxiety, depression, anger, and sleep difficulties by focusing on small changes that reduce distress.

Internal Family Systems looks at the different parts inside a person - for example a critical part and a wounded part - and helps them relate to each other more kindly. It can be especially helpful for issues like shame, grief, and patterns that keep repeating.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what feels comfortable, and then try strategies together. This is a collaborative process where adjustments are made as needed.

Confirm the therapist's current online session options before booking, since formats are not specified in the biography. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy day, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time so people can schedule around work, childcare, or other demands.