John Shovels, LMSW

John Shovels, LMSW, helps adults who are feeling stuck by offering straightforward, practical therapy. He focuses on problems like anxiety, depression, substance misuse, stress, and men's issues. He aims to help people build stronger coping skills and clearer plans for change.

He has 15 years of experience as a therapist and practices in Michigan. He also has a background that includes leadership coaching and development, and he brings that coaching mindset into sessions when it fits a client's goals. He prefers simple explanations and often uses metaphors or pictures to make ideas easier to use in everyday life.

In sessions he listens for underlying patterns that keep problems repeating. He helps people identify small, manageable steps to feel better and to handle problems differently. Humor shows up sometimes when it helps lighten a heavy moment.

John uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as one of his main approaches, along with methods that teach emotional skills and that focus on motivation and solutions. He works with each person to choose practical tools that match their needs and goals.

People can expect a direct but warm style that balances practical skill-building with personal reflection. He supports clients who want clearer thinking, steadier mood, or help moving through life changes. He encourages realistic goals and steady progress.

How John uses focused approaches in online therapy

John draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors influence each other and then practice different reactions. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, panic, and mood challenges because it breaks big problems into clear steps to change.

He also uses Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills to teach emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and better interpersonal effectiveness. DBT-style skills work well when emotions feel intense or when someone wants steadier ways to handle conflict and strong feelings.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. John will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t worked before. Together they try methods, track what helps, and adjust the plan as needed so therapy stays practical and relevant.

Online sessions can happen by video, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different days and needs. Video calls let you work through material closely, phone sessions can be a simpler check-in, chat offers quicker exchanges, and text messaging supports ongoing reminders and brief check-ins. These options make it easier to keep therapy part of a busy life and to use tools between sessions.