Dr. Brian Shaffer, LCMHC, LCPC

Dr. Brian Shaffer is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor who brings 20 years of experience to his work. He focuses on helping people facing stress, anxiety, addictions, grief, depression, and major life changes. He uses a person-centered style and pays attention to clients' spiritual beliefs when those are important to the person. He draws on a mix of practical approaches to help clients meet goals for recovery and well-being. That can include strategies from cognitive behavioral therapy to address unhelpful thinking, skills from dialectical behavior therapy to manage strong emotions, and acceptance and commitment ideas to clarify values and move toward them. He also uses attachment-based perspectives when past relationships shape current struggles. Dr. Shaffer listens for how trauma, loss, and substance use have shaped a person's life. He works with people to process past experiences and reduce their ongoing impact. Sessions typically focus on clear problems, workable skills, and steps toward change rather than abstract theory. His approach often blends clinical methods with attention to spiritual concerns when clients want that included. This can make treatment feel more whole for some people and supports coping, resilience, and hope. Dr. Shaffer aims to guide clients toward more freedom from the past and a clearer sense of the future. He practices in Pennsylvania and offers services in English. Those interested in starting are asked to use the site process to match and schedule with him.

How his approaches translate to online therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people clarify what matters to them and take small steps toward those values while learning to live with difficult thoughts and feelings. It is often used for anxiety, depression, stress, and coping with life changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and behaviors and practicing practical skills to change them; it can be handy for anxiety, mood, and addiction-related patterns. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early relationships shape current reactions and connection styles and can be useful when past bonds affect trust, intimacy, or emotional regulation.

Finding the right approach usually happens together. The therapist will talk with the person about their goals, history, and preferences and then suggest methods to try. That collaborative process allows adjustments over time if an approach does not fit or new issues arise.

Confirm the current session options before booking so you know how appointments are conducted. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy day, reduce travel time, and allow regular check-ins between appointments when clinically appropriate. It can also let people choose sessions that match needs on a given day, such as a shorter check-in or a longer therapy session, depending on what the therapist and client arrange.