Amy Shafer, LCSW

Amy Shafer is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 30 years of practice in California. She brings a practical, people-first approach to therapy and focuses on thoughts and everyday habits that influence mood and behavior. Amy works with adults on issues like depression, anxiety, grief, stress, and relationship concerns. She trained in psychology and human development at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and earned a Master of Social Work from San Diego State University in 1991. Amy has provided care across settings and age groups, and more recently has concentrated on adult and geriatric concerns. Her long experience informs a calm, steady style in sessions. Amy’s work centers on family systems and relationship patterns. She helps people name unhelpful thinking and daily routines, and then try small changes that can shift feelings and interactions. She also addresses trauma, loss, caregiving stress, chronic illness, and communication problems using straightforward tools. Therapy with Amy tends to emphasize practical coping skills alongside emotional processing. She blends approaches such as cognitive behavioral and mindfulness techniques with client-centered listening. Sessions often focus on problem solving life’s stressors and strengthening effective habits. People meeting with Amy can expect a collaborative process where goals are set together. She offers support for intimacy concerns, parenting strain, addiction recovery, and compassion fatigue. Prospective clients are encouraged to consider how short-term changes in thinking and routines might improve day-to-day life.

How therapy approaches guide work online

Amy draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to shape practical online work. ACT focuses on noticing values and choices, and helps people act in ways that matter despite uncomfortable thoughts or feelings. CBT looks at thinking patterns and daily habits, then tests small behavior changes to shift mood and functioning.

She also uses elements of Client-Centered Therapy, offering open listening and validation so clients feel understood. That supportive stance helps people try the skills they choose and reflect on what is working. Finding the right mix of methods is part of the process and Amy will collaborate with each person to decide what fits their goals and preferences.

If you are considering online options, confirm the session formats available before booking since format details are not specified here. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time. Discussing how sessions will run and which approaches to emphasize happens early, so therapy can be tailored to your schedule and needs.