About Karen
Karen Shaughness is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) based in New York with 38 years of experience. She offers a calm, approachable presence for people facing stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, and ADHD. Her style is warm and down-to-earth, aimed at making the first steps into therapy feel manageable.
She uses client-centered work to help people feel heard and understood. That means sessions begin with the client's own goals and priorities.
Background and approach
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, is used when practical changes in thinking and behavior can reduce symptoms like worry and low mood. Mindfulness is woven into sessions to build awareness and reduce reactivity to difficult thoughts. Motivational interviewing helps people find their own reasons to change, which can be useful for addiction or habit-related concerns.
Karen has long experience with a wide range of problems, including trauma, relationship strain, grief, sleep difficulty, and workplace stress. She also supports people coping with bipolar mood shifts, panic, obsessive thoughts, and compassion fatigue from caregiving jobs. Sessions are offered by video, phone, live chat, or text messaging to fit different schedules and needs.
She blends practical tools with steady support so people can try small steps and notice progress over time.
Therapeutic methods and how online therapy fits
Client-centered therapy focuses on the person's own goals. The therapist listens closely and follows the client's lead to build trust and clarify what matters most. This approach helps when someone needs personal validation and a clear plan for change.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, works on changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. It is practical and goal-oriented, often used for anxiety, depression, panic, and mood problems. Mindfulness therapy teaches simple attention practices to reduce reactivity and improve sleep and stress management.
Finding the right fit is a collaborative process. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences, and what has or hasn't helped before. Together they will try approaches that suit the person's needs and adjust as progress is noticed.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone, live chat, or text messaging to increase flexibility. Video sessions let people work face to face without commuting. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or a quick check-in works best. Live chat and text messaging suit brief updates, step-by-step homework, or when written reflection helps. These options make it simpler to schedule therapy around work, caregiving, or daily life.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- ADHD
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 38 years
- Licensed
- New York
- Languages
- English
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