- Emotionally-Focused Therapy
- CBT and ACT methods
- Grief and caregiving issues
About Amy
Amy Shafer is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in California with 30 years of clinical experience. She works with adults and older adults on problems such as depression, anxiety, stress, grief, and relationship difficulties. Her background includes degrees in Psychology and Human Development and a Master of Social Work focused on clinical practice.
She uses Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) alongside approaches like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, client-centered work, and mindfulness. Sessions often focus on emotions that are hard to name and on improving how people relate to others. She helps people address family conflict, communication problems, and intimacy-related concerns.
Amy has worked in many settings across the lifespan, which informs a practical way of working. She brings a range of tools to the room and adapts them to the concern at hand. That can mean skills for managing anxiety, experiments to shift patterns in relationships, or mindfulness practices to reduce reactivity.
She has substantial experience supporting people through life changes, chronic illness, caregiving stress, and bereavement. Amy also works with issues like codependency, commitment struggles, and problems rooted in family of origin dynamics. Her focus includes both everyday stressors and complex histories that affect present relationships.
People who meet with her can expect straightforward, focused sessions that attend to feelings, behavior, and practical problem solving. To begin, clients complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule a first session to discuss goals and next steps.
How her approaches shape online sessions
Amy uses Emotionally-Focused Therapy to help people recognize and name difficult emotions and to shift patterns in relationships. EFT can be helpful when emotions feel confusing or when relationship interactions keep repeating in painful ways. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is another method she uses; ACT focuses on noticing thoughts and values-guided action to handle stress and life changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) appears in her toolkit as well and offers concrete strategies for changing unhelpful thinking and behavior.Choosing the right approach is part of the work. She will collaborate with each person to find which methods fit best with their goals, preferences, and the problems they bring. That collaboration can mean trying one way of working for a few sessions and shifting if something else seems better.
The original biography does not list specific session formats, so confirm the current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life - for example, it can save commuting time, allow shorter check-ins during a workday break, or make it simpler to choose a session when travel or mobility is limited. Licensed professionals can use a range of approaches in remote sessions to address grief, anxiety, relationship patterns, caregiving stress, and other concerns without changing the nature of the therapeutic work.
Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
30+ years
Listed in
California
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does Amy work with?
She works with depression, anxiety, stress, grief, relationship and family conflict, trauma and abuse, addiction, intimacy-related issues, sleeping problems, parenting strain, and compassion fatigue.
How does she use Emotionally-Focused Therapy?
She lists Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) as one of her approaches. EFT is used to address emotional patterns and difficulties in how people relate to others.
What is her clinical experience?
She has 30 years of experience working in many settings and with clients across the lifespan, most recently focusing on adults and geriatric individuals.
What credentials and location apply to her practice?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, LCSW, licensed in California and practices from that state.
Does she offer sessions in other languages or to international clients?
Sessions are offered in English. She does not accept international clients at this time.
What session formats are used?
The original biography does not specify session formats. Please confirm current session options before booking.
How are fees handled?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What do I need to do to start working with her?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Profile details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. Credential and registration rules differ between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.