Ellen Shafer-Lind

Ellen Shafer-Lind provides counseling for people facing grief, stress, anxiety, relationship struggles, and major life changes. She also helps with addiction, caregiver strain, intimacy concerns, and issues around self-esteem and depression. Ellen uses a warm, encouraging approach to help people find practical ways forward.

She works with individuals dealing with family problems, blended family dynamics, fatherhood issues, and aging or geriatric concerns. Ellen draws on 36 years of practice and a Master of Social Work from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her background includes work with the Veterans Health Administration and experience in hospital and home-based settings.

Ellen commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to address symptoms and build coping skills. She also uses client-centered listening, psychodynamic ideas about past influences, and solution-focused steps to set short-term goals. Sessions focus on what the person wants to change and on small, doable actions.

Her style is straightforward and compassionate. She aims to offer insight, practical problem solving, and support while people work toward stability. Ellen wants clients to leave feeling more capable and with clearer next steps.

She holds the LIMHP credential and has additional certifications related to substance and gambling counseling. In private practice, she blends approaches to match each person’s needs and goals. Prospective clients can expect a collaborative process that emphasizes real-life problem solving and steady encouragement.

How her approaches work for online therapy

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and reflecting what matters to the person. The therapist follows the client’s lead and helps them name goals and values. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at patterns of thought and behavior to reduce symptoms and teach practical coping skills. CBT can help with anxiety, depression, grief-related distress, and problem behaviors.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Ellen will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences. That may mean trying a skills-based CBT focus for a while, then shifting to deeper exploration if helpful. The plan is adjusted based on how things are going and what the person needs.

Practical benefits of online therapy include being able to schedule sessions more easily around work or caregiving duties and avoiding travel time. Some people find phone or video sessions let them fit short check-ins into a busy day, or choose options that need less bandwidth or no camera. Confirm the current session options before booking so you can pick what fits your routine.