01 · Who Shanekka works with

Shanekka works with stress, Anxiety, trauma and abuse and self esteem

Shanekka lists 5 specialisms and 21 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Shanekka chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Shanekka's own words

What Shanekka says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

I have experience working with children, adolescents, and adults from diverse backgrounds, including LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and other underserved, underrepresented, and overlooked populations. My work spans residential mental health, residential substance abuse treatment, schools, domestic violence and family shelters, and outpatient treatment. I specialize in supporting individuals with mild, moderate, and severe mental health conditions, focusing on anxiety, depression, trauma, life transitions, adjustment disorders, relationship and workplace issues, alternative dispute resolution, co-occurring disorders, and substance abuse recovery maintenance.

My therapeutic approach integrates evidence-based modalities, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Narrative Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). I am committed to providing person-centered, culturally competent care that empowers individuals to achieve meaningful and lasting change.

Beyond therapy, I am passionate about personal and professional development and expanding access to mental health resources. Whether through workshops, training, or educational materials, I strive to promote resilience, healing, and well-being in the communities I serve.

Let’s connect to collaborate and create positive change!

Shanekka Brown-Johnson, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Shanekka works

The 7 approaches Shanekka lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Shanekka lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Shanekka's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Shanekka runs a session.

Acceptance and Commitment TherapyACT

Rather than trying to argue a painful thought away, ACT works on loosening its grip and getting on with what matters to you anyway. Sessions spend real time naming your values, then building action around them while difficult feelings are still present.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian

The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.

Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT

Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.

Dialectical Behaviour TherapyDBT

A structured skills-led adaptation of CBT built around holding two things at once: accepting yourself as you are and working to change. Teaches concrete skills for distress tolerance, emotion regulation and relationships. Developed for people whose feelings arrive at overwhelming intensity, and strongest-evidenced there.

Motivational InterviewingMI

A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.

Narrative Therapy

Treats the story you tell about your life as something that can be examined and retold rather than as the plain facts. Separates the person from the problem - “the anxiety” rather than “your anxiety” - to make room for the parts the current story leaves out.

Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT

Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Shanekka practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Shanekka's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Shanekka at this point.

2. Naming Shanekka specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Shanekka is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Shanekka.

3. If the caseload is full

   You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

4. The first conversation

   A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

5. If the fit is wrong

   Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

3 questions worth asking Shanekka

Built from what Shanekka actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Shanekka's - Shanekka has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Client-Centred Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

  Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

• “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

  Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

• “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

  On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LMFT

Licensed in

California

Licence

CA LMFT 145841, AK LMFT 238586

Licence number

145841

Licence expires

31 Mar 2028

NPI

1528629623

Years in practice

14

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

9 Jun 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Shanekka's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 9 Oct 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Shanekka. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.