Shannon obtained her Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy in 2006 from San Diego
State University. After working for a couple of years in counseling she changed course
and decided to gain experience in the area of disability advocacy. She worked in
Arizona State University’s Disability Resource Center for several years and has spent
the past decade serving in a leadership role with a blindness rehabilitation training
center in Phoenix.
Shannon has training in Emotionally Focused Therapy with couples and also has
specialized training and experience supporting people through the life challenges
surrounding grief and loss. Other areas of interest include prenatal and postpartum
challenges and concerns.
Shannon strongly believes that her role as a therapist is to hold a safe space for clients
so that they may explore their life challenges to create the changes they desire. She
has an absolute passion for supporting necessary systemic change. Whether she is
working with an individual, a couple or serving as a disability advocate she believes that
we must evaluate our systems, whether family or our larger community, to determine
how we can move them to a new chapter that can make life better and healthier for
everyone involved.
As a blind person, Shannon understands and appreciates the challenges of living in a
marginalized group and the importance of working to make things better for all
individuals who experience oppression. She is able to utilize her other senses and her
clinical ability to connect with clients at an incredibly deep and authentic level. As a wife
and mother she connects with the daily challenges of marriage and family life. Being
truly present in her own family is her first priority and she wants to support others in
figuring out how they can be present in their family system in whatever way is most
authentic for them.
“Drench yourself in words unspoken. Live your life with arms wide open. Today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten” - Natasha Bedingfield
