Shelly Flachs, LCSW
Narrative-focused LCSW helping you reframe life stories
Details
| Name | Shelly Flachs |
|---|---|
| Credentials | LCSW |
| Based in | Illinois |
| Licensed in | Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Iowa |
| Session format | Online |
| Languages | English |
| Years in practice | 12 |
About Shelly
Shelly Flachs is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing in Illinois. She brings 12 years of clinical experience to conversations about stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, and life changes. Shelly writes the work as a collaboration where a person's story is central to care and progress.
Shelly uses Narrative Therapy to help people make sense of their experiences and find new meanings in them. She also draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify unhelpful thinking patterns and on Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills for emotional regulation when feelings run high.
Background and approach
Sessions are practical and focused on small, doable steps clients can use between appointments. Shelly supports people facing grief, addiction, bipolar challenges, relationship and intimacy-related issues, and parenting stress. She also addresses concerns such as body image, sleep and eating problems, chronic pain, caregiver stress, and codependency.
The work often mixes talking with concrete skills practice and reflection on personal stories. Her style is straightforward and respectful. Shelly helps people set goals, try new ways of coping, and notice when old patterns shift.
Progress is tracked in real life, not just in sessions. Sessions are offered in English and are provided remotely in formats like video calls, phone, live chat, and text-based messaging. Cost varies by location and is set through a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What this therapist works with
Her listing names Stress, Anxiety, Trauma and abuse, Grief among the things Shelly works with, alongside the areas below.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
- Addictions
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Fertility issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches listed
- Narrative Therapy: Named in her listing among her approaches.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Listed by Shelly among the ways she works.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Listed by Shelly among the ways she works.
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT): Listed by Shelly among the ways she works.
- Mindfulness Therapy: Listed by Shelly among the ways she works.
- Motivational Interviewing: Listed by Shelly among the ways she works.
- Psychodynamic Therapy: Listed by Shelly among the ways she works.
- Solution-Focused Therapy: Listed by Shelly among the ways she works.
- Trauma-Focused Therapy: Listed by Shelly among the ways she works.
- Internal Family Systems: Listed by Shelly among the ways she works.
- Training stated: This directory copies the approaches a therapist names and does not check training records. Ask Shelly 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 Shelly directly how she uses it and what a session usually looks like.
Online session options
How Narrative and Skills-Based Approaches Work Online
In online sessions Shelly combines Narrative Therapy with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills. Narrative Therapy helps people tell the story of their life in a way that highlights strengths and choices, which can shift how problems are viewed. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy looks at thoughts and behaviors to find small changes that reduce distress and improve mood. Dialectical Behavior Therapy offers concrete skills for managing strong emotions, improving relationships, and handling crises when they arise.Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work. Shelly collaborates with each person to decide which methods fit their goals and preferences. Together they set goals, try techniques in day-to-day life, and adjust the plan as progress is made.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to meet. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or for a shorter check-in. Live chat and text-based messaging are useful for quick reflections, skill practice between sessions, or when writing feels easier than speaking. These options help people fit therapy into busy schedules and keep momentum between appointments.
Common questions about this listing
What concerns does Shelly help people with?
Shelly works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, grief, bipolar challenges, addictions, and relationship or intimacy-related issues among other concerns.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her style is conversational and goal-oriented. She centers a person’s story and pairs that with practical skills from approaches like Narrative Therapy and CBT.
What experience does she bring to sessions?
She has 12 years of clinical experience as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker working with a wide range of emotional and behavioral concerns.
Where is she licensed and based?
Shelly is an LCSW licensed in Illinois and practices with clients in that state.
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available?
Sessions can be conducted by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs.
How does payment work and what does it cost?
Cost varies by location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
To start, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions based on the therapist's availability.
Contacting this therapist
Sessions with Shelly 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 Shelly where she has space. Ask about fees, and whether she holds a licence or registration where you live.
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