About Shirley
Shirley Colee is a licensed mental health counselor in Florida with 20 years of experience. She helps people facing anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, relationship strain, and a wide range of life stresses. Shirley aims to make the first step feel manageable by meeting each person where they are.
Shirley uses simple, practical talking and goal-setting to address day-to-day problems. She listens closely to what matters most and then shapes sessions around those priorities.
Background and approach
Her approach combines supportive conversation with concrete coping skills people can use between appointments. Clients can expect a collaborative process that blends gentle reflection with skills practice. Shirley draws on client-centered methods to create a respectful space, and on cognitive behavioral techniques to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors.
She also integrates dialectical behavior therapy skills for emotion regulation and EMDR for trauma-focused work when appropriate. Shirley has worked across many concerns over two decades, including addictions, parenting stress, eating issues, ADHD, bipolar mood concerns, and caregiver burnout. She tailors treatment plans to a person's unique situation and goals rather than using a one-size-fits-all model.
People from different places can connect with her through phone or video, live chat, or text messaging. Shirley welcomes straightforward conversations about goals and practical steps, and she helps people map out realistic plans for change.
Approaches that translate to online work
Shirley often uses client-centered therapy to focus the work on the person's own goals and values. This approach emphasizes respect, active listening, and adapting the pace to what the person needs, which can feel natural in a video or phone session.She also draws on cognitive behavioral therapy, which breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches practical techniques to shift unhelpful patterns. CBT works well online because exercises and worksheets can be shared and practiced between meetings. Dialectical behavior therapy skills are another common element, offering concrete tools for managing intense emotions and improving interpersonal effectiveness during stressful times.
Finding the right mix of methods is part of the process. Shirley collaborates with each person to decide which approaches make sense for their goals and life situation. She checks in regularly and adjusts plans based on progress and preferences.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for deeper conversations and when visual cues help the work. Phone sessions can be simpler when bandwidth is limited or for a shorter check-in. Live chat or text messaging can support brief updates, skill practice between sessions, or people who prefer written communication. These options provide flexibility so therapy can fit into busy days and different routines.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
Also listed
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Stress, Anxiety
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Existential Therapy
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Gottman Method
- Imago Relationship Therapy
- Jungian Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
- Experience
- 20 years
- Licensed
- Florida
- Languages
- English
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