Allen Gholston

Allen Gholston is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with twenty years of experience helping people manage stress, anger, anxiety, addiction, depression, and grief. He offers a respectful, nonjudgmental space where concerns about relationships, self-esteem, career changes, and LGBT issues can be talked through. Allen emphasizes practical steps and steady support rather than quick fixes.

Allen focuses on understanding what matters most to each person. He listens first, then tailors a plan that fits that person’s life and goals. Sessions aim to build skills for coping with difficult feelings and to find clearer ways forward when life feels overwhelming.

His approach draws on client-centered work, cognitive behavioral tools, dialectical behavior ideas, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing. That mix helps with mood struggles, trauma and abuse, substance use, and chronic health challenges. Allen describes his practice as solution-focused and grounded in positive regard for all people.

People who prefer a calm, encouraging style will find his manner steady and accepting. He supports exploration of identity, body image, and sexuality without judgment. He also addresses compassion fatigue and midlife transitions for those feeling worn down by caregiving or work demands.

Allen is based in Tennessee and speaks English. He works with issues like post-traumatic stress, personality disorders, seasonal affective disorder, and co-morbidity by matching therapeutic tools to the person in front of him. If someone is ready to try deliberate steps toward change, he offers encouragement and practical guidance.

How Allen's Approaches Translate to Online Work

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and building a plan that matches each person's goals, helping clients feel heard and respected while they try practical changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, breaks down thoughts and behaviors into parts you can work on, which helps with anger, anxiety, depression, and habit patterns that maintain problems. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, DBT, teaches skills for regulating intense emotions, managing stress, and improving moment-to-moment coping during crises.

Choosing the best mix of approaches is a collaborative process. The therapist will ask about a person's goals, what has or hasn't worked before, and personal preferences. Together they decide which tools to try and adjust the plan as progress is made.

The biography does not list specific session formats, so confirm current options before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when a full session isn’t needed. It also lets people use strategies learned in sessions in the places they live and work. Licensed professionals can adapt CBT and DBT skills to work over distance, teaching grounding exercises, thought records, and behavior experiments that can be practiced between sessions.