About Shannon
Shannon Flaherty Gibbons is a licensed clinical social worker with 26 years of experience in California. She focuses on common life stresses such as anxiety, relationship strain, parenting concerns, low self-esteem, and major life changes. Shannon aims to make the first step into therapy feel manageable and straightforward.
She creates a warm, nonjudgmental space where people can say what matters to them. Sessions are conversational and practical. Shannon listens closely and helps clients notice patterns that keep them stuck, then works with them to try different ways of responding.
Background and approach
Her work draws on approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy to address anxious thinking and unhelpful habits. Attachment-based ideas also inform how she looks at relationship patterns and emotional needs. She uses techniques from dialectical behavior therapy and client-centered therapy when they fit the person's goals.
Shannon often helps people build better coping skills for day-to-day stress and for larger life challenges such as caregiving, chronic illness, fertility struggles, or grief. She also supports people facing identity issues like codependency, abandonment concerns, or shifts in family roles. People who choose her tend to want a practical, compassionate collaborator.
Shannon works at a steady pace, tailoring sessions to each person's situation and goals. She encourages small changes that add up to clearer thinking and more manageable days.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and commit to actions that match their values. It is useful for anxiety and for navigating big life changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on spotting and changing thinking and behavior patterns that keep stress and worry going. It is often used for anxiety, low mood, and practical coping skills. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at patterns in close relationships and helps people understand how early bonds can shape reactions to conflict and loss.Finding the right approach is part of the work. Shannon will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn't helped before. Together they decide which methods to try and adjust them as needed to fit the person's pace and needs.
Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for a full face-to-face conversation. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is low or when a quieter check-in suits the day. Live chat and text allow short check-ins, homework support, or ongoing reminders between sessions. These formats make it simpler to fit therapy into busy schedules and to keep momentum between meetings.
Questions people ask
What concerns does Shannon commonly address?
What is her therapeutic style like?
How much experience does she have?
What credentials and region should I know about?
Which languages are offered and are international clients accepted?
What session formats are available?
How is cost handled for sessions?
How do I begin working with her?
What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Parenting issues
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dissociation
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
- Systemic Therapy
- Experience
- 26 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.