John Shafer

John Shafer is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) based in New York. He brings 25 years of experience helping people manage stress, anxiety, anger, depression, and relationship concerns. He uses straightforward, practical methods to help people make changes they can keep.

Shafer’s background includes work in rural community mental health, school-based programs, and urban and suburban settings. He has worked with people across a wide age range and from varied socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. That breadth shaped a flexible approach to addressing common life problems.

In sessions he draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Client-Centered methods, and Existential ideas. He focuses on clear skills and real-world steps over jargon. Conversations often include mindfulness and techniques to manage difficult emotions and impulses.

He has experience facilitating individual work, couples sessions, and groups. That variety informs how he helps people with coping skills, communication, and problem solving. Many clients seek help for anger, grief, addiction, parenting strain, and major life changes.

Shafer emphasizes working with each person to set achievable goals. He aims for practical tools that fit daily life. To begin, prospective clients complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule a session based on availability.

Therapeutic approaches and how they work online

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings and choose actions that match their values. It is useful for stress, anxiety, anger, and life transitions because it emphasizes practical behavior change rather than fighting every thought. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking and changing behaviors that keep problems going. It is often used for anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and coping with stress and addiction.

Finding the right approach is part of therapy. The therapist will work collaboratively to figure out which methods fit a person's goals and preferences. That choice can change over time as needs shift, and sessions will adapt to what helps most in everyday life.

Session options are not specified in the biography, so confirm current formats before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit appointments into a busy schedule, shorten travel time, and allow check-ins during breaks or between commitments. It also lets people use approaches like CBT and ACT in the moment where problems occur, with practical homework and skills to practice between sessions.