01 · Who Shirley works with

Shirley works with relationship issues, family conflicts and trauma and abuse

Shirley lists 14 specialisms and 30 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Shirley chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Shirley's own words

What Shirley says about the work

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

I am a State of Colorado licensed Mental Health provider (#00991632) and have been for nearly 30 years. I grew up in Michigan and attended Wayne State University achieving a BA in Psychology and a MSW. Early on in my career, I enrolled in a 2-year Intensive Family Therapy program at what was then The Ann Arbor Center for the Family. It was at the exciting time when Family Systems Therapy had just revealed itself to the profession. I completed that program and many other advanced trainings throughout the years. Many of the clients I have served throughout the years have found me through my work in health care, hospice, schools, foster care and adoption, pregnancy services, serving the disabled and their caregivers including their animal caregivers. In the year 2000 I completed a 1000 hour Massage Therapy Program at The Boulder College of Massage Therapy. Soon after I became Nationally Certified in Massage & Bodywork Therapy (#290715-00) which is the highest and most rigorous standard set by NCBTMB. I have been licensed by the State of Colorado (#0001022) since 2000 as a Licensed Massage Therapist. My dual careers as a Psychotherapist and Bodywork Therapist has enabled me to practice from a Somatic perspective with a trauma-sensitive focus. Several years ago, as an EMDR therapist, I discovered The Flash Technique and have been finding my clients are responding well to this in trauma resolution therapy. Needless to say, I love learning and I’ve accumulated a variety of expressive art tools I sometimes use in my sessions. Clients often learn the therapeutic value of sound therapy, dance & movement therapy, clay therapy and I introduce them in my virtual sessions and in-person sessions in my home in Longmont, Colorado.My greatest gift in all my life has been the ability to embrace my innate curiosity and express it to help others.

Shirley Williams, on the BetterHelp listing · read 6 Nov 2026

03 · How Shirley works

The 4 approaches Shirley lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Shirley lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Shirley'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 Shirley runs a session.

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”.

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.

Trauma-Focused TherapyTF-CBT · trauma-informed

CBT adapted for people whose difficulty is rooted in a frightening or overwhelming event. Pacing is the point: safety and stabilisation come first, the memory itself is approached gradually and only when you are ready, and the aim is that recalling it stops hijacking the present.

Also listed

• Existential Therapy
• Somatic Therapy
• Systemic Therapy

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Shirley 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 Shirley'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 Shirley at this point.

2. Naming Shirley specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Shirley 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 Shirley.

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

4 questions worth asking Shirley

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

• “You list both Solution-Focused Brief 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.

• “With 35 years in, what has changed most in how you work?”

  Long experience is only an advantage if it has been examined. This tends to surface whether it has.

• “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

LCSW

Licensed in

Colorado

Licence

CO LCSW CSW.00991632

Licence number

CSW.00991632

Licence expires

31 Aug 2027

NPI

1871210203

Years in practice

35

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Shirley'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 6 Nov 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 Shirley. 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.