Mary Shands, LPC
Warm listener who focuses on personal stories
Details
| Name | Mary Shands |
|---|---|
| Credentials | LPC |
| Based in | Texas |
| Licensed in | Missouri, Texas |
| Session format | Online |
| Languages | English |
| Years in practice | 12 |
About Mary
Mary Shands is a Licensed Professional Counselor practicing in Texas with 12 years of experience. She brings a warm, energetic presence and strong listening skills to sessions. Mary has worked in schools, veteran services, substance use treatment, and other settings.
She helps people with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship and parenting concerns. Mary’s background includes work in special education and general education school settings. She has experience supporting people after trauma and loss, and those navigating adoption separation and emotional abuse.
Background and approach
She has also worked with veterans and people coping with substance use challenges. In sessions she draws on Narrative approaches alongside Attachment-Based and Client-Centered ideas to focus on personal stories and relationships. Mary also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy tools and emotionally focused techniques when useful.
She matches practical strategies to a person’s needs and goals rather than sticking to a single method. People describe her style as caring and direct. She listens first and helps people name patterns that cause pain.
Then she works with them to try new ways of responding, setting small, realistic steps to change how daily life feels. Mary offers a straightforward, conversational space for change. She provides coaching-style support for career and life transitions as well as therapeutic help for grief, trauma, addiction concerns, eating and sleeping problems, and compassion fatigue.
Sessions are conducted in English and available to international clients.
What this therapist works with
Her listing names Stress, Anxiety, Addictions, Relationship issues among the things Mary works with, alongside the areas below.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Depression
- LGBT
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Avoidant personality
- Body image
- Cancer
- Codependency
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- HIV / AIDS
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Personality disorders
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Traumatic brain injury
- Women's issues
Approaches listed
- Narrative Therapy: Named in her listing among her approaches.
- Attachment-Based Therapy: Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Client-Centered Therapy: Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT): Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Existential Therapy: Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Mindfulness Therapy: Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Motivational Interviewing: Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Solution-Focused Therapy: Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Trauma-Focused Therapy: Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Training stated: This directory copies the approaches a therapist names and does not check training records. Ask Mary directly how much of the work is narrative and what a session usually looks like.
Narrative Therapy in this listing
Narrative Therapy appears in this therapist's own list of approaches. That tells you it is part of how she works. It does not tell you how much of a session it shapes, and this directory does not check or rate training.
If a narrative approach is what you are looking for, it is worth asking Mary directly how she uses it and what a session usually looks like.
Online session options
Approaches that shape online care
Mary uses Narrative Therapy to help people reframe the stories they tell about themselves and their relationships. This approach looks at how life events and cultural messages shape personal narratives and helps people try different storylines that feel more helpful.She also works with Attachment-Based Therapy ideas to look at how close relationships affect emotions and behavior. That perspective can be useful for people dealing with intimacy issues, grief, or patterns that repeat in relationships. Client-Centered Therapy is another part of her practice; it focuses on listening without judgment and letting the person set the pace and goals.
Finding the right approach is a team effort. Mary will work with clients to identify which methods fit their goals, preferences, and day-to-day life. She often combines narrative work with attachment or client-centered techniques so strategies match what the person needs in the moment.
Online sessions are available by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy fit busy schedules. Video calls let people use visual cues and deeper conversation. Phone sessions can be a good shorter check-in or when lower bandwidth is needed. Live chat and text are useful for brief check-ins, journaling between sessions, or steady support when typing feels easier than talking. These options help people access care from different locations and routines.
Common questions about this listing
What concerns does Mary often help people with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, addictions, relationship and parenting issues, plus grief and self-esteem problems.
What is her general therapy style?
Mary takes a conversational, client-centered approach that centers a person’s story. She listens closely and uses practical steps to change patterns that cause distress.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has 12 years of counseling experience across schools, veteran services, substance use treatment, and related settings.
What are her credentials and where is she located?
Mary holds the LPC credential and is licensed in Missouri and Texas. She practices from Texas.
Which languages and international options are available?
Sessions are offered in English and she accepts international clients.
What session formats does she use?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different needs.
How does payment work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions are provided through a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Click the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule based on therapist availability.
Contacting this therapist
Sessions with Mary are arranged through our partner platform. It asks a few questions about what you are looking for, then shows you the therapists available to you, including Mary where she has space. Ask about fees, and whether she holds a licence or registration where you live.
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