About Shelly
Shelly Scamardo is a licensed psychologist in Illinois who helps people facing anxiety, stress, low self-esteem, depression, and big life changes. She emphasizes clear, practical steps that people can use between sessions. Shelly writes and speaks plainly with a calm, steady approach that aims to reduce overwhelm and build confidence.
She draws on more than 21 years of clinical experience working with mood disorders, panic and phobias, obsessive-compulsive concerns, and relationship stresses.
Background and approach
Her work also addresses attachment issues, body image, communication struggles, and difficulties with control or impulsivity. Shelly helps people sort through guilt, shame, isolation, and questions about life purpose. Shelly trained in psychology at Michigan State University and completed graduate study at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology, earning a doctorate in 2004.
She uses a mix of approaches to match the needs of each person, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, psychodynamic ideas, attachment-based perspectives, client-centered methods, and solution-focused techniques. Sessions are collaborative and goal-minded. Shelly aims to identify patterns that keep problems repeating and then develop doable changes.
She teaches coping strategies for panic, anxiety, and mood shifts, and practices that strengthen communication and connection. Her style is warm and straightforward. Shelly breaks down problems into manageable steps so clients can see progress.
She supports people who want practical tools and clearer direction as they move through transitions and life challenges.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online care
Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on how early connections shape current relationships and emotional responses; online sessions can help identify those patterns and practice different ways of relating. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, teaches concrete skills to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors and is especially useful for anxiety, panic, and mood symptoms.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Shelly will collaborate with each person to choose which methods to try based on their goals, day-to-day challenges, and what feels most useful. She adjusts strategies over time as progress is made and new issues appear.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, offering flexibility for different schedules and needs. Video lets people use visual cues during conversation, phone calls work well when a quieter or less bandwidth-heavy option is needed, and chat or messaging can support brief check-ins or ongoing skill practice between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, school, or family routines while keeping momentum toward goals.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
Also listed
- Attachment issues
- Body image
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 21 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English
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