About Norman
Norman Shaffer is a licensed clinical social worker in Tennessee with nine years of experience helping people manage anxiety, addictions, depression, and life changes. He focuses on practical steps people can use right away to feel more in control and calm. Norman emphasizes a respectful, strengths-based approach and treats each person as the expert on their own life.
In sessions he listens closely and helps people name what is most upsetting them now.
Background and approach
He uses clear, goal-oriented strategies to reduce overwhelming thoughts and urges. He also encourages reflection about meaning and values to guide longer term change. Norman draws on cognitive behavioral techniques to change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns.
He pairs that with mindfulness practices to reduce reactivity and increase present-moment awareness. Motivational interviewing helps when people feel stuck or unsure about making changes related to substance use or other habits. His work has included supporting people with trauma, grief, anger, relationship stress, hoarding, obsessive-compulsive concerns, and issues related to military service.
He helps people tackle both immediate problems and broader life goals, such as career direction or rebuilding self-esteem. Sessions are conversational and practical. Norman offers encouragement and clear options, while helping people set realistic next steps.
He supports clients as they try new skills and steadily build more effective ways to cope.
Approaches that guide online sessions
Norman commonly uses cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness therapy in online work. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing them with small behavioral experiments to reduce anxiety and compulsive behaviors. Mindfulness therapy teaches simple attention practices to reduce reactivity, help with stress, and improve emotional regulation.Choosing an approach is a collaborative process. He will talk with each person about their goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t helped before. Together they decide which methods to try first and adjust the plan as progress is made.
Online sessions offer practical flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and demonstrations of exercises. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth or background noise is a concern. Live chat or text-based messaging can be used for brief check-ins, sequencing small steps between sessions, or when writing feels easier than speaking. These options can help people fit therapy into busy days and try different ways of working until they find what helps most.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Grief
- Hoarding
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Sex addiction
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 9 years
- Licensed
- Tennessee
- Languages
- English
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