Find a Therapist in Ellicott City, MD

My goal is to create a calm and healing therapeutic environment. In this atmosphere, you are allowed to explore areas of challenges and personal growth.

I am an interactive, genuine, non-judgmental therapist who has a passion for working with adolescents and adults. I believe that you are unique and your needs are important. Together, we will identify your strengths to empower you to personal growth and change.

I approach therapy as a partnership between you and me. You know you best and I know mental health. Between the two of us, we will develop a customized approach to help you heal from long-term wounds that just don’t seem to shift with self-help books, podcasts, or short-term work. I work best with individuals who are committed to treatment and thrive in developing a long-term relationship with a provider to help navigate complex issues like generalized anxiety, trauma, dissociation, and attachment issues. Most of my clients work with me on childhood trauma they have spent a lifetime avoiding, but now notice showing up in daily life as panic attacks, insomnia, appetite problems, relationship issues, and unpleasant memories.

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.

Dr. Katelyn Shaffer, DNP, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP)-BC, CARN-AP, is a board-certified Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) providing care to patients in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Dr. Shaffer has taken on many roles as a psychiatric nurse practitioner. She has worked with patients across the lifespan in settings including outpatient psychiatry, acute inpatient care, research, and education. Working with adult patients in outpatient psychiatry has always been Dr. Shaffer’s primary interest and specialty. She is well-versed in treating an array of diagnoses, including mood-related challenges, anxiety-related challenges, attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD), and trauma-related challenges. As a PMHNP and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Dr. Shaffer’s role is multifaceted, including medication manager, therapist, educator, and mental health advocate.

Bridgette is a Resident in Counseling with two years of experience. She has worked with teens and adults who are struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, posttraumatic stress (PTSD), attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD), and life transitions. Bridgette uses a client-centered approach to meet clients where they are, while offering a kind, safe, and gently challenging space to help them understand themselves and grow.

What brings you to therapy is pain in your life. Did you know that have strengths, already present within yourself - to cope with what life throws you? I can help you discover those strengths and learn to use them - so that you can start feeling in control of your life again.

Kristi Gannon is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) who currently offers telehealth sessions in Virginia, specializing in offering treatment to adults and seniors who are faced with the negative effects of anxiety, depression, anger, relationship issues, attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD), poor coping skills, gender identity issues, stress, trauma, posttraumatic stress (PTSD), women's issues, and more.

Brandon Gommer is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with over 8 years of experience in the mental health field. He has worked in outpatient and inpatient mental health settings with adults, with a focus on trauma and addiction treatment. Brandon has also led intensive outpatient program (IOP) and partial hospitalization program (PHP) groups for adolescents. He has a specific passion for working with adults struggling with unresolved childhood trauma, complex trauma, posttraumatic stress (PTSD), substance abuse, and addictions of all kinds.

" Real transformation sometimes requires real honesty" - I would love to assist you with finding the path to your true self. Are you trying to find the right therapist? Not knowing what, who or what you need can make a situation worse when you want relief. Let me help you! I enjoy working with individuals who are trying to make meaning of their lives. Whether it involves issues concerning anxiety, depression, stress, anger, life transitions, academic/work performance, or other personal challenges, I will provide you with a supportive and safe space to assist you in gaining insight into your life. My aim is to help you optimize you.

I approach therapy through a collaborative and relational lens, working with clients to understand their challenges within the broader context of their relationships and lived experiences. Drawing from collaborative therapy and systemic sex therapy, I partner with clients to explore how family dynamics, early life experiences, and past traumas shape present-day concerns, particularly in intimacy, authenticity, and communication. Together, we uncover unconscious patterns that influence choices and relational dynamics, fostering deeper connection and self-awareness. I support individuals and partners in navigating intense symptoms of anxiety and depression, and guide them through significant life transitions—such as career shifts, divorce, or entering college—with compassion, curiosity, and a commitment to shared meaning-making.

Every conversation makes a difference. The differences may be subtle or they can be life-changing. I work in a direct and warm manner, creating an environment that is dynamic and safe. The therapeutic relationship is a very important one and can provide the basis for navigating through difficult life transitions, improving communication skills, healing from a loss, or exploring possibilities for enhancing one's life.