Shana Williams-Leary , LCSW

Shana Williams-Leary is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with 24 years of experience working in both inpatient crisis settings and outpatient counseling across Florida, Utah, Maine, Arizona, and several other countries. She has supported people from childhood into older adulthood, with experience ranging from age 4 to 85, and approaches each person by beginning where they are before tailoring interventions to fit their needs. Her clinical focus includes treatment of PTSD related to abuse and both primary and secondary trauma, and she is a Certified TIST therapist - trauma-informed stabilization and treatment - with advanced training in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, including the Flash Technique.

Williams-Leary has extensive experience with chronically mentally ill individuals, including those living with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, dissociative conditions, and depression, and she frequently assists people navigating life transitions, expatriate adjustment, high sensitivity, developmental delays, and dementia-related challenges for clients and their caregivers. She commonly works with adults 18 and over in individual sessions and also addresses family, parenting, and caregiver stress.

Her approach is eclectic and warm, grounded in acceptance, positive regard, and trust-building, yet adaptable to solution-focused and brief work when needed. She uses motivational interviewing to clarify what clients want and where motivation may be limited, then shifts to strengths-based skill building, integrating cognitive-behavioral and humanistic interventions with a family systems and developmental perspective. Having engaged in her own therapeutic work, she views therapy as a transformative undertaking and approaches her role as a therapist as a privilege and a sacred trust, partnering with clients in the style they find most helpful.

Therapeutic approaches and how they work online

Shana Williams-Leary integrates several evidence-informed approaches that translate well to remote work. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns and developing practical skills to shift them; it is commonly used for anxiety, depression, and coping with life changes. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a trauma-focused method that helps process disturbing memories and reduce their emotional intensity; Williams-Leary has advanced training in EMDR, including the Flash Technique, and adapts these methods thoughtfully for telehealth sessions. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes empathy, acceptance, and creating a trusting therapeutic relationship, helping people feel heard and guiding growth at their own pace.

Choosing the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. She collaborates with each person to assess needs, goals, and preferences and to determine whether CBT, EMDR, client-centered work, or a combination best supports progress. This collaborative stance helps tailor care to the individual rather than applying a one-size-fits-all model.

Online therapy offers flexibility in how people access care - through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging - making it easier to fit sessions into busy lives, maintain continuity during transitions, and access licensed professionals from different locations. These options support ongoing work on skills, processing experiences, and addressing relationship or life challenges in a way that suits each person’s schedule and needs.