Shawnte' Gates, LCMHC

Shawnte' Gates is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in North Carolina who focuses on practical, goal-oriented work. She draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy alongside client-centered and mindfulness approaches to help clients change unhelpful thinking and build coping skills. Shawnte' keeps sessions warm and direct so people can talk through what matters most to them.

She has ten years of professional experience in mental health. That background includes work across residential, in-home, and outpatient settings. Those roles gave her experience with a wide range of concerns, from anxiety and depression to addictions and mood disorders.

Sessions tend to focus on small, concrete steps. Shawnte' helps people identify thinking patterns that cause distress and practices alternate responses. She also uses motivational interviewing to support change and solution-focused techniques to set short-term goals.

Her approach begins where each person is and adapts to individual cultural identities and life choices. She aims to create a nonjudgmental space where clients can explore emotions, behaviors, and decisions. Collaboration is central - she works with clients to set clear targets and measurable steps.

Practical skills commonly covered include stress management, sleep strategies, emotion regulation, and communication tools. Shawnte' also helps with questions about identity, intimacy, and career direction. The work is intended to be steady and skill-based, with room for hope and real change.

How therapeutic approaches translate to online care

Shawnte' commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people spot and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, which is useful for anxiety, panic, depression, and mood regulation. She also uses Client-Centered Therapy, which prioritizes listening and building a trusting relationship so clients feel heard and able to set their own goals.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. She will talk with each person about goals and preferences, then shape sessions around what seems most helpful. That collaboration means methods can shift over time as needs change and progress is made.

Online therapy is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to suit different situations. Video calls are good for face-to-face conversations and teaching skills, phone sessions work when bandwidth is limited, live chat is useful for quick check-ins, and messaging supports ongoing reflection between meetings. These options make scheduling easier and let people fit therapy into work, school, or busy family routines.