Shakina Small, LPC

Shakina Small is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) based in Pennsylvania. She brings 26 years of experience to sessions and uses practical, goal-oriented methods to help people manage relationship and life stresses.

Shakina often draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and client-centered techniques to help people change unhelpful thoughts and build better habits. She also uses elements of Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Emotionally-Focused Therapy when emotion regulation and relationships are a focus. Sessions are conversational and action-focused, with clear steps to practice between meetings.

She has worked across many settings over her career, including residential programs, schools, and community services. That breadth gives her experience with trauma and abuse, addictions, parenting strain, attachment and adoption-related concerns, and mood challenges such as bipolar disorder.

In a session, Shakina listens first and then helps identify patterns that keep problems stuck. She offers straightforward coping tools for anger, anxiety, and low self-esteem, along with plans to improve communication and intimacy concerns. Homework and skill practice are common parts of the process.

Her approach is respectful and direct. She aims to help people move past old hurts and build healthier routines. Practical progress and clearer daily functioning are typical goals she helps clients work toward.

How CBT and Emotion-Focused Methods Translate Online

Shakina draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people spot and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. CBT sessions online often focus on practicing specific skills, setting small behavior goals, and reviewing exercises between meetings. She also uses Client-Centered Therapy to create a listening-focused space where the person's concerns guide the conversation and goals are set together.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy techniques are used when emotion regulation or intense reactions get in the way of daily life. DBT-based skills can include mindfulness, distress tolerance, and effective communication practices that are taught and rehearsed during sessions. Choosing the right mix of methods is a collaborative process; the therapist and client review goals, try approaches, and adjust plans based on what feels most helpful.

Online therapy offers flexible ways to work together. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation to practice skills and observe nonverbal cues. Phone sessions can be shorter check-ins or an easier fit when bandwidth or camera use is limited. Live chat and text-based messaging let people reflect in writing, get reminders, and check in between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy days while focusing on practical change and relationship improvements.