Shirley Butler, LCSW

Shirley Butler is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 23 years of experience in the mental health field. She practices from Montana and brings a calm, straightforward approach to therapy. Parents reading on a phone will find her language simple and direct. She aims to make the first steps feel manageable and clear.

She began in community mental health and Tribal behavioral health settings and later opened a private practice in 2013. Those roles included crisis on-call work and office-based sessions. Her background includes a Bachelor of Arts in Human Services Rehabilitation from Salish Kootenai College and a Master of Social Work from Walla Walla University. She completed the supervised clinical hours required before earning her LCSW.

Shirley draws on several therapeutic approaches, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, attachment-based ideas, client-centered methods, dialectical behavior tools, and emotionally focused techniques. She also uses Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing for trauma-related concerns when appropriate. In sessions she focuses on building rapport and a trusting working relationship first. Treatment plans are created together and shaped to the individual’s goals.

Her areas of focus include stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, self-esteem, depression, grief, parenting concerns, and relationship and family challenges. She also addresses issues such as abandonment, codependency, communication problems, and forgiveness. Clients can expect practical conversation, emotional support, and steps to move forward.

Shirley values cultural humility and has lived and worked in diverse settings, including time on the reservation. She prefers collaborative work where the person’s story guides the areas to examine and the pace of change.

How Shirley’s Approaches Translate to Online Therapy

Shirley commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice patterns of thought and behavior that keep problems going, and then practices small, practical changes to shift those patterns. Attachment-based work looks at how early and current relationships shape emotional responses and helps people build more reliable ways of relating. Client-centered methods focus on listening and following the person's concerns so the work moves at their pace.

Choosing an approach is a team effort. Shirley will talk through goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t helped before. Together they decide which methods to try and adjust the plan as needed so the work feels useful and manageable.

Online sessions make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life. Video calls let people use visual cues for deeper conversation. Phone sessions are an option when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging support quick reflections, homework check-ins, or ongoing check-ins between sessions. These formats offer flexibility for different schedules and communication styles.