My communication style is warm, collaborative, and focused on your unique needs and goals. I aim to create a safe, non-judgmental space for you to process your experiences and emotions.

In my sessions, I aim to create a warm, open, and non-judgmental environment where clients feel comfortable exploring their thoughts and emotions. I prioritize holding space for whatever they bring, allowing room for vulnerability and honesty. While I am straightforward and will challenge clients when necessary, I do so with care and respect—always with the goal of encouraging growth and self-awareness. I believe humor can be a powerful tool for easing tension and creating connection, so I incorporate it when appropriate to keep the atmosphere light and relatable. Overall, working with me feels like a balanced mix of empathy, directness, and support—where you can explore deeper issues while feeling encouraged to push your own boundaries and make lasting changes.

Maybe you're a new parent wondering why this doesn't feel the way you expected. Maybe anxiety has been running the show for so long you've forgotten what calm feels like. Or maybe you're in the middle of a life transition — a move, a career shift, a relationship change — and you just need someone in your corner. I'm Shelby, and I get it. I specialize in working with women, couples, and individuals who are navigating the messy, overwhelming parts of life — especially the transition to parenthood, relationship struggles, and those seasons when everything feels uncertain. My approach is warm, collaborative, and grounded in your strengths. I'm not here to fix you — you're not broken. I'm here to help you reconnect with yourself, build skills that actually work, and find your footing again. We'll use mindfulness, practical tools, and honest conversation to help you move from surviving to thriving. I offer telehealth sessions across DC, MD, VA, NY, and FL. If you're ready to feel like yourself again, I'd love to hear from you.

I’m a clinical psychologist specializing in insight-oriented therapy that helps you understand your symptoms and experiences to inform your direction in life. I do this by listening and helping you put your feelings into words. In the initial interview, we will try to understand why you are looking for therapy now and what your personal and therapeutic goals are. The people I work with tend to struggle with mood disorders, relationship issues, low self-esteem, and difficulty managing strong feelings. Please call to schedule a consultation, either in person or virtually.

At Power Counseling PLLC, we are five different clinicians. However, we have one thing in common. We are all committed to satisfactorily resolve the issues that the client brings to the therapy room. We work with individuals, couples, families and groups, offering individual, couple, family and group therapy. Our primary therapy modality is cognitive-behavioral therapy, but we also use solution focused therapy a lot. We are located in Washington DC, but we are licensed to practice in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. Our director also offers clinical supervision for those who need it. Now, we offer only teletherapy. We believe that people can change, and that therapy is about assisting clients with what they need to change so that they can lead a healthy life and achieve their life’s goals. We assist our clients to attain self-exploration, resilience, empathy, and emotional empowerment. We firmly believe in the inherent inner powers of each individual to heal. We believe that everyone possesses the necessary internal resources to overcome emotional difficulty and flourish in life. This belief guides our approach to therapy. We strive to empower our clients, in a collaborative manner. Our goal is to provide a holistic, solution-focused, empathy-driven, and emotionally empowering therapy approach. That way, we support my clients to achieve the goals for which they seek therapy. We adopt an inherently collaborative approach. It’s like a partnership in which the client has a voice and can set the agenda for the sessions and take ownership of the outcome of our work together. We empower clients to make decisions about their care, with our guidance. The goal here is to work with the client to identify and implement effective solutions to the issues that they bring to the therapy room. As necessary, we educate and guide our clients to use internal and external resources available to them to heal. We work to empower clients to make decisions and take actions that align with their values and aspirations.

Psychotherapy can help you claim and enjoy more in your life. We can all use help in finding our way at different times in our lives. You may be ready for more happiness in your life, more satisfaction, creativity, success, confidence, peace, friendships - or greater depth to your relationships. You may not have been able to find it on your own. I have experience, training, compassion and a mindful approach that can help you develop traction on the path that is truly yours. My focus is on helping you develop your ability to see yourself, your circumstances and your challenges with a fresh eye, allowing your to create the changes in your life that you really want. To the work that we can do together, I bring over fifteen years of experience as a psychotherapist, plus a depth of understanding from my experience as a husband and father and from my experience as a firefighter and paramedic. The work that I do is not about being broken or ill; it is about being more alive: * Shifting away from negative anticipation and belief in powerlessness, toward actualizing your own authentic power and vitality * Increasing creativity in your life * Living a life infused with clarity as to the abundance available to you, on place of an expectation of scarcity * Discovering the relief and pleasure in living authentically, honestly, as the "real you" * Feeling your feelings, all of them, more fully and with less fear * Finding the pleasure of taking relationships to a deeper level; enlivening friendships and reinvigorating relationships gone stale * Moving beyond the pain of the past - physical, emotional, spiritual or otherwise; letting go of outdated, limiting ideas or beliefs about yourself and finding joy in being alive. You can do this. We'll work to get you there.

I work collaboratively with individuals, couples, families and groups towards real change. My approach pulls from a variety of techniques based on the need of the client. My primary modalities include Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) to provide specific tools; Gottman method for couples; as well as other techniques based upon the need of the client.

I offer compassionate and evidence-based therapy to help you navigate life's difficulties. Whether you're dealing with anxiety, depression, relationship issues, or trauma, I can provide the support and tools you need to heal and grow. I'm here to listen without judgment and offer guidance on your journey toward healing and well-being. Together, we'll explore your thoughts and feelings, develop coping strategies, and build resilience. I believe in your ability to overcome challenges and achieve your goals. Through therapy, we'll work collaboratively to identify your strengths, develop practical solutions, and empower you to live a fulfilling life. I am available to clients across the state, allowing you to visit with me in the comfort of your home through telehealth, whether it be during the week or in the evenings or on weekends.

Our world continues to change, with its weight sometimes growing overwhelming and crushing. You are not alone. Together we’ll explore your feelings & thoughts while comprehending patterns in your history and life experience that have shaped you up to this moment. We’ll find a new space that feels more authentic, free, and connected through this work. We’ll manage and reduce your feelings of anxiety, depression, and other distressing thoughts. It is never too late to take control and redefine yourself in a controlled, safe, and open place. Whether this is your first time or you've decided to return to therapy, this is a strong data-backed investment into yourself and your future. You’ve already taken the first step by searching for a therapist. While reaching out to me can be difficult and anxiety-provoking, it can also empower, potentially defining the next chapter of your life. After advanced psychoanalysis training in NYC, I moved to Washington, DC, where I've lived and worked for over eight years with a broad and diverse variety of patients just like you. Together we'll create a space in which you’re fully heard and seen, where we start the process of uncovering exactly how you show up in your life. Thank you for taking the time.

At Laurel Fay and Associates, my colleagues and I are committed to providing you with a safe, caring environment in which we can address your unique situation. By carefully listening, I work to get behind the everyday surface of a situation to the underlying meaning. My systemic approach means I look to the dynamics between people rather than solely focusing on the internal workings of one person. Even in individual work, this approach can be helpful and empowering. I often use humor to gently but skillfully pinpoint specific issues and highlight areas of growth.

I began working in this field almost 30 years ago because I wanted to make a tangible difference in people's lives. Over the years, I have worked with countless individuals, couples, families, and groups to help them improve their quality of life. Through my experience, I have learned that: Although many may appear to be similar demographically in terms of age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, religion, etc., everyone brings hisher own individual histories to therapy -- histories that distinguish each client as a unique individual. As a result, I welcome all clients, and I recognize that each client will bring hisher own history and values to therapy. I commit to working within each individual's system of values as I try to help the individual draw from hisher history to improve hisher quality of life. My two primary metrics are: a) tangible improvements in an individual's life, and b) the individual's feelings and understanding regarding change and the process of change. Like physical therapists and coaches who are willing to challenge their athletes to perform at full potential, I am willing to challenge my clients to reach their full potential in life. But my guiding philosophy is: "challenge by choice" -- I will only as far and as fast as my clients are comfortable.

At FamilyFirst Psychological Services in Vienna, Virginia, your family's well-being is our first priority. All of our licensed clinical psychologists are dedicted to helping children, adolescents, and adults feel better, establish healthier communication and relational patterns, and improve functioning at home, school, work, and in the community. We provide psychotherapy to individuals of all ages who are experiencing anxiety, depression, ADHD, behavior problems,developmental delays (e.g., asperger's syndrome) trauma, parent stress, marital difficulties, or a recent life change (e.g., divorce, loss, birth of a sibling, relocation). We also conduct psychoeducational and psychological testing to uncover explanation(s) for your child/adolescent's academic, behavioral, or social difficulties. We offer our services in a family-friendly, warm, professional environment. We work closely with you to both develop and meet your individual treatment goals. Call us today so that we can help you reach your goals as soon as possible.