About Shawna
Shawna Pankonin is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) based in Mississippi who helps people manage stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and relationship struggles. She draws on 14 years in the mental health field and aims to make therapy straightforward and practical for worried parents and individuals.
Her approach is warm and direct, focused on helping people feel heard and regain a sense of control. Shawna has worked in homes, residential care, schools, youth court systems, outpatient settings, and a Child Advocacy Center.
Background and approach
That variety gave her experience with many clinical issues, including complex trauma and family conflict. She often helps people with parenting challenges, grief, self-esteem, career concerns, and mood conditions such as bipolar disorder. In sessions she begins where the person is and adapts methods to fit each situation.
She uses client-centered work alongside cognitive behavioral techniques and mindfulness to address thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Solution-focused and narrative ideas also inform goal-setting and personal storytelling during therapy. Her style blends compassion with practical steps.
She emphasizes collaboration, realistic goals, and steady progress rather than quick fixes. Shawna asks questions, listens closely, and helps people identify small changes that build confidence over time. Therapy with her can include talking through painful events, practicing new coping skills, and creating plans for relationship or parenting changes.
She also supports people navigating adoption and foster care, blended family issues, caregiver stress, communication or commitment problems, and recovery from domestic violence.
Approaches and online care that fit your life
Shawna commonly uses client-centered work and cognitive behavioral therapy to guide online sessions. Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and building a trusting relationship so the person feels understood. Cognitive behavioral therapy looks at thoughts and behaviors to find practical ways to reduce anxiety and improve mood.She also draws on mindfulness techniques to help people notice and manage stress in the moment. Mindfulness involves simple attention practices that can reduce overwhelm and help with sleep, anxiety, and emotional regulation. These methods are used to support goals like reducing panic, improving coping, or managing mood swings.
Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss options, try techniques, and adjust plans based on the person's needs, goals, and preferences. That collaborative process helps find what feels most useful.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video lets people use visual cues and longer conversations, phone can be a lower-bandwidth option, live chat is handy for brief check-ins, and messaging supports ongoing contact between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy family schedules and varied routines.
Questions people ask
What concerns does she address?
What is her therapeutic style like?
How much clinical experience does she have?
What credentials and region are listed?
In which languages can sessions be held?
What session formats are available?
How are costs handled?
How do I begin working with her?
What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also listed
- Adoption and foster care
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Visually impaired
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 14 years
- Licensed
- Mississippi
- Languages
- English
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.