Patrick Shanahan, LCSW

Patrick Shanahan is a licensed clinical social worker with 44 years of experience. He helps people facing midlife transitions, relationship struggles, grief, anxiety, and stress. He focuses on clear, practical steps to move forward rather than long, abstract theories. Shanahan centers sessions on a person’s values and life goals. He believes people can often correct their course once they get unstuck. Conversations tend to focus on problem solving, better communication, and realistic next steps that fit daily life. Early in his career he created and ran an outpatient clinic attached to a runaway and homeless youth shelter. For 18 years he offered case management, individual therapy, and family work both in the shelter and in community settings. He also trained and supervised paid staff and graduate students during that time. He later spent 18 years working in managed care, helping members use mental health benefits and providing phone-based therapy and crisis intervention. He has also worked in outpatient offices and with a professional Christian counseling group on a part-time basis. His therapeutic tools draw from cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment ideas, attachment-based work, emotionally-focused methods, and client-centered practice. He has training and experience with brief family therapy, structural and strategic systems approaches, hypnotherapy, and addiction-related work. Shanahan’s approach is practical, respectful, and grounded in decades of varied clinical settings.

How therapeutic approaches shape online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on identifying personal values and taking committed actions toward them. It helps people dealing with midlife transitions, anxiety, and feeling stuck by clarifying what matters and setting small, achievable steps. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact and teaches practical strategies to change unhelpful patterns. CBT is useful for depression, stress, and anxiety symptoms. Attachment-Based Therapy centers on how early relationships affect current bonds and communication; it can help people improve intimacy-related issues and relationship patterns. Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose methods that match their goals, needs, and preferences rather than imposing a single model. Approaches can be blended and adjusted as therapy progresses. Please confirm current session options before booking, as formats are not specified here. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It also lets people continue care when moving or when schedules change. Licensed professionals will help tailor session length and pacing so therapy fits into daily routines.