Alaina Cara
Alaina Cara
MSW, LCSW
She/Her/Hers
“Radical Acceptance is the willingness to experience ourselves and our lives as it is. A moment of Radical Acceptance is a moment of genuine freedom.’
–Tara Branch

Therapy can feel intimidating, but have no fear! My fun, energetic approach will make anyone feel comfortable and at ease as your personal journey begins.
I am a licensed clinical social worker of 15 years who brings a wealth of DBT enthusiasm, clinical knowledge, and leadership experience to the DBT of South Jersey team. As an MSW graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, prior to joining the team I was the Child and Adolescent Team Coordinator for a local outpatient facility, as well as an Intensive In-Community therapist working in homes with at risk children, teens, and families. As a therapist, I like to balance radical genuineness with compassion and understanding to help lead my clients towards their goals.
I completed my DBT foundational training through BehavioralTech, LLC in 2015, and attained my certification as a supervisor towards clinical licensure through NASW in 2013. I most recently completed training with Dr. Franceska Pereplechikova in DBT for Children in November of 2024, and am additionally trained in Exposure and Response Prevention for anxiety and OCD. While my areas of expertise are with children and teens, I welcome clients of all ages, as well as families and couples.
As a former multisport athlete, I have made it my mission as a therapist to use my skills to support the mental health of today’s athletes. Being that I once had issues with my own mental health as a young athlete, I look back and think if only I had a FEW DBT skills under my belt, what a different experience it would have been! It is because of this personal experience that I decided to create an entire workbook of DBT skills designed specifically for athletes! See below for information on “The Skillful Athlete – Improve your Mental Health and Performance using Dialectical Behavioral Therapy”.
This workbook contains DBT skills adapted by me specifically for the athlete population, and touches on very important concepts such as performance anxiety, perfectionism, self-confidence, sport-life balance, teamwork, and many more!
This workbook is also designed for coaches, trainers, and parents of athletes! Each section consists of ideas of how to help your athletes implement the skills in practice or in real life. Therapists working with athletes are also welcome to this workbook, as well as my upcoming training in September 2025 through Rebelmente to debut the skills as well as dialectical strategies for treating athlete clients.
No matter your journey, I’m here to help. Take the next step and schedule an appointment. Let’s work towards change and growth together.
- Ages: 7+
- Counseling Location: Voorhees, New Jersey in Person and Online Counseling in New Jersey
- Specialties: DBT, Substance Abuse & Addiction, Exposure & Response Prevention Therapy for OCD, athlete mental health and performance
- Mental Health Experience: Emotion dysregulation, Trauma, Generalized Anxiety, Specific Phobia, Self-Harm
- Clients: Children and Teens, Parents and Families, Couples, Veterans Seeking Counseling in New Jersey

Get your copy now!
The Skillful Athlete
I decided to take this wish a step further by not just teaching a few DBT skills to athletes, but by creating an entire workbook of DBT skills for athletes! I now introduce you to “The Skillful Athlete-Improve your Mental Health and Performance using Dialectical Behavioral Therapy!” This workbook contains DBT skills adapted by me specifically for the athlete population, and touches on very important concepts such as performance anxiety, perfectionism, self-confidence, work-life balance, teamwork, and many more!
This workbook is also designed for coaches, trainers, and parents of athletes! Each section consists of ideas of how to help your athletes implement the skills in practice or in real life. Therapists working with athletes are also welcome to this workbook, as well as my upcoming training in September 2025 through Rebelmente to debut the skills as well as dialectical strategies for treating athlete clients.
This workbook includes 10+ activities in the skill sets of:
- Mindfulness: Improving Focus
- Distress Tolerance: Improving performance anxiety
- Middle Path: Improving perfectionism and sport-life balance
- Emotion Regulation:
- Optimizing emotions that help performance, improve self confidence and mind-body connection
- Interpersonal Effectiveness:
- Improving team communication and develop leadership qualities
*This workbook is designed as a fillable digital download. If you have any questions or need help, please email alaina@dbtofsouthjersey.com for assistance.