Shakina Small , LPC

Shakina Small is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Pennsylvania with 26 years of clinical experience. She focuses on helping people manage relationship and family struggles, trauma and abuse, self-esteem, addictions, intimacy concerns, parenting stress, anger, career changes, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and other life transitions.

Her approach centers on the person in front of her. She uses client-centered methods to listen deeply and DBT and cognitive behavioral tools to teach coping skills. Sessions are straightforward and practical, with space to name painful experiences and try new ways of responding.

Shakina draws on a range of methods to match each person's needs. That can mean using emotionally-focused techniques for relationship issues, CBT to address unhelpful thinking, or motivational interviewing to support change around substance use. She also brings experience with attachment, abandonment, adoption and foster care concerns, blended family challenges, and body image struggles.

Her background includes work in many settings, which shapes how she adapts therapy for different life situations. She is comfortable addressing domestic violence, parenting and fatherhood issues, communication and control problems, and grief over separation or divorce.

People who choose her often want a direct but compassionate therapist who will challenge stuck patterns. She aims to help clients identify roots of problematic behavior, practice new skills, and move toward more functional daily life.

Therapeutic approaches adapted for online care

Shakina commonly draws on client-centered therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy in online work. Client-centered therapy focuses on empathetic listening and helping people feel heard, which can open space to talk through relationship and parenting concerns. Cognitive behavioral therapy looks at thoughts and behaviors and teaches concrete exercises to change unhelpful patterns, useful for anxiety, mood challenges, and addiction-related work.

She also uses dialectical behavior therapy techniques when emotion regulation or intense reactions get in the way of daily life. DBT supplies specific skills for managing strong feelings, improving relationships, and tolerating distress a bit at a time. Choosing which approaches to use is collaborative; the therapist will discuss options and tailor methods to a person's goals and preferences rather than assuming one path fits all.

Online formats - video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging - make it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules. Video is a close substitute for in-person sessions when visual cues help the work. Phone sessions use less bandwidth and can be a good choice for shorter check-ins. Live chat and text-based messaging allow for brief, ongoing support and skill practice between longer sessions. These options provide flexibility so people can make steady progress while balancing work, parenting, and other obligations.