Shirley Southard

Shirley Southard is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) with 20 years in human services. She helps people facing stress, anxiety, anger, addictions, depression, ADHD, grief, and major life changes. Shirley aims to listen without judgment and offer practical support that helps people move forward.

Clients can expect straightforward conversation and steady guidance. Shirley focuses on understanding each person’s situation and finding small, doable steps toward change. She uses approaches that teach new skills and shift habits so daily life becomes easier to manage.

Her background includes work with mental health, developmental disability, and substance use populations. She has also supported assisted medication management and served active military members and their families during her career. That variety informs a flexible, problem-solving approach in sessions.

Shirley holds a master’s degree in counseling and is licensed in North Carolina as an LCMHC. She also has experience supervising substance use treatment. Her practice brings together cognitive strategies, motivational techniques, and client-centered listening to address practical problems people bring into therapy.

When someone reaches out, Shirley looks for what matters most to them and builds goals around those priorities. She describes therapy as a collaborative process where people learn skills, talk through stuck places, and plan for healthier routines and relationships.

How Shirley’s approaches translate to online care

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and empathy. It helps people feel heard and decide what matters most to them, which can be useful for stress, grief, and anger. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at patterns of thought and behavior and teaches concrete skills to change them; it often helps with anxiety, depression, and impulsive reactions. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, combines skill teaching with balance around strong emotions and can support people dealing with intense feelings and relationship struggles.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Shirley will collaborate with each person to see which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences. Goals and methods are adjusted over time based on how things are going and what the client wants to accomplish.

Session options are not listed in this biography, so confirm current online formats before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life - for example, it removes commuting time, allows shorter check-ins when needed, and can be easier to join from different locations. Licensed professionals can use skill-teaching exercises, guided practice, and weekly planning in remote sessions to help clients apply new habits in everyday life.