Shane George
I'm a family man with daughter and a son on the way so I am very passionate about family systems. My own family was a bit messy as a child and I have tried to do my best to turn those hardships into something positive.
I primarily help underserved populations with managing trauma and rebuilding connection with the understanding that negative experiences persist within the nervous system and impact how we see ourselves.
In my practice I hold this as a major philosophy, focusing on "post traumatic growth." I encourage a very holistic approach to therapy combining traditional cognitive focused talk therapy with exploration of implicit and subconscious feelings as well as incorporating in mind/body awareness and taking account of external contributors. I am a proud all-inclusive and neurodivergent therapist that has 1000s of hours working with struggling kids, survivors of trauma, the LGBTQIA+ community, neurodivergent individuals, and many other underserved populations. I primarily help underserved populations with managing trauma and rebuilding connection with the understanding that negative experiences persist within the nervous system and impact how we see ourselves. I strive to help connect you back to yourself with a focus on self understanding, acceptance, and empowerment rather than a more clinical focus of trying to "fix" or "cure" an illness.
First session
First sessions are focused on establishing rapport and building a strong therapuetic alliance. As a very relational therapist I give client's every opportunity they need to inquire about me both personally and professionally. The primary goal of our introductory session is to instill hope and collaborate together on how to reach ideal goals and connect with your authentic best self! I try to make sessions feel easy, I'm a big fan of the law of parsimony, if something feels like pulling teeth people don't come back. So expect to balance a lot of grounding and connection with challenging and self exploration making sure we are staying in your personal window of tolerance but still encouraging it to grow.
Strengths
I approach therapy from a relational lens balancing gentleness and challenging as needed. I don't look at mental illness as and "illness", rather a disconnect between how you perceive yourself and who you actually are. I am here to help you connect with yourself and rediscover and appreciate yourself again not to focus on your flaws. I consider my approach to be very holistic and relational using a combination of theories with Gestalt and Narrative being corner stones of my approach. Additionally, I use several other theories in support including IFS, CBT, SE, Attachment, Gottman, and others.
Ideal clients
I thrive best with clients who are highly motivated and willing to challenge themselves and learn about themselves, I love working with kids but primarily when the children themselves find value in therapy, although I often can help them find that value. I work best with trauma and emotional issues especially regarding areas that either are or impact relational elements. I struggled with social anxiety and selective mutism for several years in college and have also struggled my whole life with ADHD. Additionally I recognize I have a fair amount of abandonment trauma that led me to become a therapist in the first place. I consider these things an inherent part of me that I've grown to love and accept and I encourage client's to do the same. If you're a little quirky, nerdy, and neurodivergent we will get along extra well. I love working with motivated open-minded people and love learning about populations I have less experience with. Some areas I am very confident working with are relational stress, trauma (especially childhood trauma including sexual trauma), grief, depression, anxiety (especially social), ADHD, Autism, and abandonment wounds.
Treatment methods
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
My primary theory is Neo-Gestalt (but Grow didn't let me put that) which is fancy for "the whole" it's a theory that prioritizes self acceptance and working through unfinished business where the past sneaks into the present. I focus on helping clients build awareness through a very dynamic and relational setting where I hold a very active role while still holding the client in charge. IFS is a huge complimentary theory I use which if you saw "inside out" you likely know a bit about it. The focus of IFS aligns incredibly well with gestalt with a heavy focus on self acceptance and curiosity rather than critical judgment. Both focus on exploring "parts" or the building blocks of what make up what we call the "self" we often start off more cognitive and slowly turn the attention inward uncovering more covert internal patterns to address the cause not just the result. I find that these types of theories hold much more long term benefits than traditional CBT exercises which often don't drill very far below the surface. Adding to this holistic point of view I'm currently finishing my intermediate year of Somatic Experiencing which is focused on healing trauma in the nervous system. this theory also pairs very well with Gestalt and IFS with a focus on exploring your nervous system from a very healthy self accepting lens recognizing its desire to help while acknowledging where trauma is getting "stuck".
Location
Virtual sessions