Michael Shaughnessy

Michael Shaughnessy is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with 39 years of experience. He brings a calm, straightforward presence to sessions and uses a conversational style to help people face the problems that brought them to therapy.

He has worked in many settings over the decades, including inpatient treatment for substance use, co-dependency, and eating disorders. He has also practiced in group and solo private settings in Florida. That mix of settings shapes how he understands everyday struggles and long-term challenges.

Michael leans toward an experiential, client-centered way of working. He often shares life stories and practical observations from his own experience to help people see new options. Humor appears in sessions when it fits, and he says he rarely gives up on someone who wants to try.

People come to him for a wide range of concerns, including stress, anxiety, addictions, relationship problems, trauma, eating issues, grief, parenting strain, anger, career questions, depression, and coping with life changes. He aims to help clients untangle complicated feelings and develop useful steps forward.

Sessions tend to focus on where a person is stuck and what small changes would help. He pays attention to how parts of the personality - the internal parent, adult, and child - interact and create distress. The work is practical, direct, and shaped around each person's goals.

How Client-Centered and Existential Approaches Work Online

Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and understanding the person as they are. The therapist follows the client's pace, reflects what they say, and helps people find their own answers; this can help with anxiety, relationship struggles, and grief.

Existential therapy looks at meaning, choice, and responsibility in life. It helps people facing big questions about purpose, loss, or direction and can be useful for career changes, coping with life transitions, and deep worries about identity.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their goals and preferences. That might mean trying a few ways of working to see what feels most helpful.

The biography does not list specific session formats, so confirm available options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, shorten travel time, and allow for consistent check-ins during life changes. They also let people choose quieter surroundings or shorter check-ins when that helps with concentration or timing.