Shelly Mentus, LMHC

Shelly Mentus is a licensed mental health counselor with 15 years of clinical experience in Florida. She helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, and relationship struggles. She also supports those coping with addiction, parenting strain, and life changes. Shelly meets people where they are and focuses on clear, practical steps. Sessions emphasize better communication, rebuilding trust, and managing strong emotions. Her style blends practical tools with listening and emotional care. She uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help people notice and change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns. Shelly also draws on acceptance and commitment approaches to help clients clarify values and take meaningful action despite uncomfortable feelings. Her work includes addressing trauma, intimacy and family concerns, codependency, and issues like abandonment or body image. She helps people work through anger, shame, and isolation while building routines that support recovery and emotional balance. Shelly practices client-centered care, which means she tailors sessions to each person’s goals and pace. She includes skills from dialectical behavior therapy and emotionally focused methods when emotional regulation or relationship connection are priorities. Outside of her clinical role she enjoys travel, movies, bowling, and time with family and friends. Those personal interests inform a warm, down-to-earth approach aimed at helping people feel understood and move toward practical change.

Online approaches that focus on thoughts, values, and connection

CBT, or cognitive behavioral therapy, helps people notice patterns of thinking and behavior that feed anxiety or depression and then practice small changes to reduce symptoms. It can be useful for stress, low mood, and addiction-related habits. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, emphasizes clarifying what matters most and taking value-driven action even when emotions are difficult. ACT often helps with feelings of emptiness, life transitions, and persistent worry. Client-centered therapy centers the person’s experience and priorities. The therapist listens closely and shapes sessions around the client’s goals, which can help build trust and guide practical planning. Finding the best approach is part of the work. Shelly will discuss options and tailor methods based on the client’s needs, goals, and preferences. That collaborative process may mix strategies so each session matches what the person wants to achieve. Online therapy offers flexibility for different schedules and needs. Video calls are helpful when visual cues and deeper conversation matter. Phone sessions can be a lower-bandwidth option when video is difficult. Live chat and text-based messaging work well for shorter check-ins, quick skill practice, or people who prefer writing to speaking. These formats make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives while using CBT and ACT skills, emotion regulation strategies, and relationship-focused work to support progress.