Dr. Shannon Derby

Dr. Shannon Derby is a licensed mental health counselor with 25 years of professional experience based in Florida. She helps people facing stress, anxiety, anger, addictions, low self-esteem, depression, and major life changes. She works with concerns like grief, intimacy issues, parenting strain, career stress, and compassion fatigue. Her approach is respectful and compassionate, and she adapts conversations to each person's needs.

In sessions she focuses on practical skills and clear goals. She uses tools from cognitive behavioral therapy to change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns. She incorporates acceptance and commitment ideas to help people clarify values and take small meaningful steps. Dialectical behavior therapy skills are offered for emotion regulation and distress tolerance.

Her work also attends to attachment patterns and the ways early relationships shape current struggles. Client-centered listening creates space for people to feel heard before moving to active strategies. Dr. Derby tailors plans based on what the person hopes to achieve and what fits their life.

She describes therapy as a collaborative process where courage and small changes add up. She supports people through practical problem solving and skill building. Anyone wanting to explore next steps can expect straightforward, empathetic conversation and a focus on workable tools.

Dr. Derby practices in Florida as an LMHC and conducts sessions in English. To begin, she asks prospective clients to complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule according to therapist availability.

Therapeutic approaches and online options

Dr. Derby draws on a few approaches to help people manage strong emotions and make changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing them with real life actions to reduce anxiety and depression. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people notice what matters to them and commit to small, value-based steps even when uncomfortable feelings appear. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at patterns in close relationships and how early bonds can affect trust, boundaries, and emotional responses.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. She talks with each person about their goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t helped before. Together they choose strategies and adjust them as progress unfolds, keeping the plan practical and focused on everyday changes.

The therapist biography does not list specific online formats, so confirm current session options before booking. In general, online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy schedule, allow shorter check-ins when time is limited, and reduce travel time. It can also let people use audio-only conversations if bandwidth is low or choose video when visual connection is helpful. Licensed professionals can work with clients across distances while tailoring pacing and tools to fit each person's routine and needs.