Shirley Williams , LCSW, CSW

Shirley Williams is a Colorado licensed clinical social worker who helps people facing relationship strain, trauma, grief, anxiety, and stress. She draws on 35 years of practice to offer steady support and practical ways to cope. Shirley speaks plain language and focuses on helping people find manageable steps forward.

Shirley began her studies with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and a Master of Social Work from Wayne State University. Early in her career she completed a two-year intensive family therapy program at the Ann Arbor Center for the Family and later worked in healthcare, hospice, schools, foster care and adoption, and pregnancy services. Her experience also includes supporting people with disabilities and the caregivers who assist them.

She combines talk-based work with body-centered methods. Shirley completed a 1,000-hour massage therapy program at the Boulder College of Massage Therapy and became nationally certified and state licensed in massage and bodywork. That background informs a somatic perspective in sessions and attention to how the body holds stress.

Shirley uses trauma-focused approaches, including Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and Narrative Therapy. She also incorporates expressive tools when helpful, such as sound, movement, and clay, adapted for online or in-person work. Her aim is to help people process painful events and rebuild a sense of safety and purpose.

Her style is collaborative and curious. Sessions are meant to be practical and paced to individual needs so people can try things between meetings and notice what helps.

Trauma-focused and Somatic Approaches Online

Shirley integrates Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, Narrative Therapy, and trauma-focused techniques in online work. EMDR involves guided bilateral stimulation alongside memory processing to reduce the impact of traumatic memories and can help with post-traumatic stress and lingering trauma symptoms. Narrative Therapy looks at the stories people tell about their lives and helps separate the person from the problem so they can rewrite their sense of self. Trauma-Focused Therapy centers on identifying and processing traumatic experiences while building current coping skills and safety strategies.

Choosing a therapeutic approach is a collaborative process. Shirley will talk with each person about their needs, goals, and preferences and recommend methods to try together. She adjusts techniques over time based on what is helpful and what the person feels ready to do.

Online sessions are available by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to increase flexibility. Video calls work well for conversational work and using expressive tools that translate to the screen. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is low or when a session needs to fit into a break from work. Live chat and messaging are useful for brief check-ins, coaching-style support, or people who prefer writing to speaking. These formats make it easier to connect across distance and schedule therapy around daily life.