Dr. Shakena Mabry, LCSW

Dr. Shakena Mabry is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing in Maryland with 12 years of experience. She focuses on practical support for people managing stress, anxiety, depression, and life changes. Her approach treats each person as the expert on their own story and builds on individual strengths. Dr. Mabry listens for what feels most urgent and then helps set clear, manageable goals. Sessions often include straightforward tools for coping with overwhelm, improving mood, and handling difficult relationships. She uses methods such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice thoughts and try different behaviors. She also draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and client-centered techniques to help people clarify their values and make choices that fit those priorities. For trauma-related concerns she incorporates EMDR-informed strategies and skills from Dialectical Behavior Therapy when regulation and distress tolerance are needed. People come for many reasons - burnout, parenting strain, grief, addiction concerns, questions about sexuality, or struggles with motivation and self-worth. Dr. Mabry offers support for mood disorders, ADHD-related challenges, and multicultural stressors too. Her work emphasizes small, consistent steps rather than quick fixes. Starting therapy with her means focusing on what can change now and what tools suit daily life. She guides clients through practical exercises, short-term skill work, and longer conversations about meaning and purpose. The goal is clearer choices and better ways to handle hard moments.

How online approaches like CBT, ACT, and client-centered work

Dr. Mabry commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people spot unhelpful thought patterns and try new behaviors. CBT is task-focused and often includes short exercises to practice between sessions, which can help with anxiety, depression, and everyday stress.

She also uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people clarify what matters to them and then take actions that align with those values. ACT can be useful for coping with painful feelings and making meaningful changes without waiting for feelings to disappear.

Client-centered techniques form another part of her work, focusing on listening and understanding each person's perspective. This helps people feel heard while they figure out goals and the best next steps together.

Finding the right approach is a team effort. The therapist will ask about goals, past attempts, and what feels doable, then suggest methods to try. That plan can change as progress is made and priorities shift.

Online sessions make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions are helpful when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging offer ongoing support between appointments and flexible ways to share thoughts when typing feels easier. These options let people work with licensed professionals in ways that match their schedules and routines.