About Shirley
Shirley "Elizabeth" Loftin is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Louisiana with 40 years of clinical experience. She focuses on making therapy straightforward and useful for people facing stress, anxiety, depression, mood disorders, trauma, grief, and LGBT-related concerns. She believes clients know their lives best and brings a respectful, listening-first style.
Sessions aim to find and build on a person's existing strengths while teaching new ways to cope. Shirley describes the first step toward change as one that takes courage, and she offers steady support through that process.
How Shirley works
Her approach combines client-centered listening with practical tools from cognitive behavioral therapy and trauma-focused work. That mix helps people address unhelpful thoughts, learn coping skills, and process traumatic memories at a pace they can manage. She uses plain language and clear goals so progress feels tangible.
Shirley also works with concerns such as anger, relationship struggles, self-esteem, panic, compassion fatigue, and issues tied to caregiving, aging, or autism. She pays attention to how family of origin, communication patterns, and life transitions affect day-to-day functioning. Sessions are offered in English and delivered online by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging.
Shirley supports people through tough life chapters by combining empathy, structure, and experience to move toward clearer thinking and steadier coping.
Shirley lists 3 ways of working on the entry:
What Shirley works with
The areas below are the ones Shirley selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
Also listed
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Bipolar disorder
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Family of origin issues
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Isolation / loneliness
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
Training and background
| Register | LPC |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 40 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | Louisiana |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Therapeutic approaches and online care
Client-centered therapy starts by treating the person as the expert in their life and giving them space to tell their story. This approach focuses on active listening and helping people identify their own strengths and goals rather than imposing a plan. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches practical skills to reduce anxiety, manage mood, and change unhelpful patterns of thinking. Trauma-focused therapy helps people process traumatic events at a pace they can handle and teaches strategies to reduce trauma-related symptoms and improve daily functioning.Finding the right approach is part of the work. Shirley will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their needs and goals. She balances empathetic listening with skill-building, and adjusts methods as progress is made so the plan stays useful and relevant.
Online sessions are offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to increase flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and shared visual cues, while phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text-based messaging are helpful for quick check-ins, written reflection, or when someone prefers not to be on camera. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy day and to continue work through life transitions.
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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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