Shelley Akerman , LPC

Shelley Akerman is a licensed professional counselor in Georgia with more than a decade of clinical experience, including work in both outpatient and hospital settings. She earned her Master of Arts in Counseling from Mercer University in Atlanta in 2013 and has spent her career supporting people across the lifespan, from children as young as four to adults into their nineties, representing a wide range of cultural, spiritual, and identity backgrounds.

Shelley has experience addressing depression, grief, low self-esteem, anxiety, trauma and abuse, relationship conflict, psychosis, self-harm, domestic violence, and addiction. Her approach blends practical problem solving with creative strategies designed to help clients make meaningful changes. She practices with a down-to-earth, laid-back, and friendly manner that aims to make people feel respected and heard.

Shelley believes strongly in the value of therapy and, drawing on her own experience of working with a therapist, emphasizes the importance of a supportive, accepting therapeutic relationship. As an LPC - a Licensed Professional Counselor - she focuses on collaborative work that helps clients identify goals, develop skills, and pursue healthier, more fulfilling lives.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care with Shelley Akerman

Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes a respectful, nonjudgmental relationship in which the therapist follows the client’s lead, offering empathy and support while clients explore values, choices, and goals - this approach can be especially helpful for relationship issues, self-esteem concerns, and life transitions.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thinking patterns and behaviors through practical exercises and skill-building; it is often used for anxiety, depression, stress, and coping with difficult emotions.

Mindfulness Therapy teaches present-focused awareness and acceptance skills that can reduce reactivity to stress and improve emotional regulation, which is useful for anxiety, trauma-related symptoms, and chronic stress.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and Shelley works collaboratively with each person to determine the best fit based on individual needs, goals, and preferences. She tailors methods over time, combining techniques from different models when that helps clients make steady progress.

Online therapy offers flexible options such as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, making it easier to access licensed professionals from varied locations and schedules. These formats allow therapists and clients to maintain continuity of care and fit sessions into busy lives while still focusing on effective, evidence-informed work.