About John
John Shafer uses practical, evidence-informed therapy to help people get unstuck. He brings 25 years of experience as a licensed clinical social worker and focuses on clear steps people can use in daily life. He works from New York and conducts sessions in English.
He often combines Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Client-Centered approaches. That means he helps people notice what matters, challenge unhelpful thoughts, and find actions that match their values.
How John works
Sessions are straightforward and focused on real-life change rather than jargon. John has worked in rural community mental health, school-based settings, and in city and suburban clinics. He has experience supporting people with anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, addiction, grief, stress, and relationship and intimacy-related concerns.
He also addresses sleep problems, parenting strain, anger, self-esteem, and career questions. Over his career he has learned to adapt to many backgrounds and life situations. He has experience with issues related to adoption and foster care, aging, caregiver stress, chronic illness and pain, neurodiversity, attachment and abandonment concerns, and codependency.
He emphasizes cultural awareness when talking about gender identity and diverse life experiences. Sessions can include skill-building from Dialectical Behavior Therapy and mindfulness practices to help manage strong emotions and decrease reactivity. His style is collaborative - he listens, suggests practical tools, and adjusts plans as needs change.
John lists 10 ways of working on the entry:
What John works with
The areas below are the ones John selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Training and background
| Register | LCSW |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 25 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | New York |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
How therapeutic approaches translate to online care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters to them and take small steps toward those values while accepting difficult feelings. It can be useful for anxiety, stress, and coping with life changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors with practical exercises for mood, sleep, and anxiety. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) offers emotion regulation and distress-tolerance skills that help when feelings feel overwhelming or reactions are intense.Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will listen to the person's goals and preferences, try techniques, and adjust the plan collaboratively so it fits day-to-day life.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy more flexible. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation and screen-sharing for worksheets. Phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging let people exchange notes, practice skills between appointments, or check in without scheduling a full session. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, family, and other commitments.
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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