About Shannon
Shannon Schaeffer is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) who helps people managing stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, low self-esteem, and depression. She works to make the first steps toward change straightforward and manageable. Her approach aims to reduce overwhelming feelings and restore a sense of control in daily life.
Shannon creates a calm, nonjudgmental space where people can speak openly about difficult thoughts and feelings. She encourages small, practical changes that build confidence over time.
Background and approach
Sessions focus on what matters most to each person rather than one-size-fits-all strategies. Her work draws from several therapeutic approaches, including acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. She also uses existential and psychodynamic ideas to help people find meaning and understand patterns that keep them stuck.
Mindfulness techniques are offered to help ground the body and mind during stressful moments. With ten years of experience, Shannon applies proven tools while adapting them to each person’s situation. She pays attention to how past experiences shape present reactions and what practical steps help in the here-and-now.
The goal is clearer choices and more steadiness when life feels chaotic. People typically leave sessions with concrete steps they can try between meetings. Shannon supports progress at a pace that fits each person’s needs.
She practices in Iowa as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and conducts sessions in English.
Approaches that guide online sessions
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people accept difficult thoughts and then take action based on personal values. It is useful for anxiety, avoidance, and situations where fear limits daily life. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on spotting and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. It is often used for anxiety, depression, and specific fears by teaching practical skills to test and shift patterns.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Shannon will talk with each person about their goals and preferences and recommend techniques that fit those needs. The process is collaborative, and methods can shift over time as progress and new challenges appear.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy flexible. Video calls allow face-to-face interaction when visual cues help. Phone sessions can work well when bandwidth is limited or a simpler check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging are useful for brief updates, quick coping strategies, or ongoing support between longer sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule and to use approaches like ACT and CBT in everyday life.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Body image
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Control issues
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Social anxiety and phobia
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 10 years
- Licensed
- Iowa
- Languages
- English
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