Shakina Small

Shakina Small, LPC, brings a compassionate, direct style to counseling. She focuses on helping people untangle relationship problems, trauma, parenting concerns, and struggles with mood or substance use. Her approach aims to help clients find clearer thinking and better coping in everyday life.

With 26 years of experience, she has worked in many settings including schools, residential programs, group homes, inpatient and outpatient care, foster care, and correctional environments. That background informs practical strategies for people facing complex life situations. She draws on multiple therapeutic methods and adapts them to each person’s needs.

Sessions tend to be interactive and educational. She uses client-centered listening combined with tools from cognitive behavioral and dialectical behavior approaches. When needed she is direct and challenges patterns that keep people stuck. Creative methods such as writing or psychodrama have been used when they help express difficult feelings.

Shakina also addresses issues around adoption, attachment, blended family dynamics, fatherhood, and abandonment concerns. She pays attention to how past experiences shape current relationships and daily functioning. Her work includes support for people managing bipolar symptoms, ADHD, and the ups and downs of career and life transitions.

People who choose her can expect a therapist who balances empathy with practical steps. She helps clients identify patterns, try new responses, and move toward healthier routines. Those interested in starting are asked to complete a short matching questionnaire before scheduling.

How these therapies translate to online work

Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes listening and understanding. Online sessions using this approach focus on building a trusting conversation where the therapist follows the client’s lead and reflects back what’s important. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and actions and uses concrete exercises to change unhelpful thinking. Online CBT often includes between-session practice and simple worksheets to try in daily life. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, teaches skills for emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and better interpersonal interactions; it is useful for managing intense emotions and improving relationships.

Choosing the right approach is collaborative. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what methods feel most useful. Together they decide whether to emphasize listening, skills training, or a mix of techniques based on the client’s needs.

Session formats are not specified in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins when that suits a schedule, and reduce travel time. For people who prefer homework, CBT and DBT translate well to at-home exercises, while client-centered meetings keep the focus on conversation and reflection.