Patrick Shanahan, LCSW

Patrick Shanahan is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) with a long career helping people through major life shifts. He focuses on relationships, grief, stress, anxiety, addiction, and caregiver or family strains. He also works with issues around aging and geriatric concerns and supports people facing parenting and career changes.

Patrick believes people are largely self-correcting but can get stuck. In sessions he looks for practical ways to move past what holds someone back. He pays attention to each person's values and life story to find direction that fits their goals.

Early in his career he started and ran an outpatient clinic connected to a runaway and homeless youth shelter. For 18 years he provided case management, individual work, and family-focused sessions in both shelter and community settings. He trained and supervised staff and graduate students during that time.

He later spent nearly two decades working with managed care, offering phone-based therapy and crisis intervention and helping members use mental health benefits. He has also worked in outpatient offices and in collaboration with a university on research to improve therapy methods.

His clinical style draws on problem-solving, structural and strategic systems ideas, cognitive behavioral methods, attachment-informed work, and elements of emotionally-focused and acceptance-based approaches. Patrick describes his work as practical, value-centered, and aimed at helping people find clearer choices.

How his approaches translate to online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters to them and take small steps toward those values. It is useful for anxiety, depression, stress, and life transitions. Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on how relationships shape feelings and behavior and can help with intimacy-related struggles and family patterns. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) breaks problems into patterns of thoughts and actions and teaches specific skills to change them, which can help with depression, anxiety, and coping skills.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic work. Patrick will collaborate with clients to choose methods that match their goals, preferences, and daily life. He adjusts techniques over time as needs change and focuses on practical steps clients can use between sessions.

Confirm the current online session options before booking so you know what formats are available. Many people find remote sessions easier to fit into work or caregiving schedules, allow for shorter check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time. Others like being able to schedule from different locations or to avoid needing to be on camera for every meeting. Ask about format details when you set up your first appointment so sessions match your routine and goals.