Shanna Downing

Shanna Downing is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, grief, career challenges, and depression. She writes in a direct, respectful way and aims to tailor conversations to each person's needs. Shanna encourages practical steps that fit into everyday life and offers steady support through difficult transitions.

She uses a client-centered stance that keeps the person's goals front and center. That means Shanna listens first, then builds a plan together. Her work draws from cognitive behavioral ideas to spot unhelpful thoughts and from mindfulness practices to build calmer habits.

Shanna also uses solution-focused and motivational strategies to help people set concrete goals and take manageable steps toward them. These approaches are useful for people facing career decisions, coping with life changes, or navigating grief related to loss and end-of-life matters. She has 13 years of clinical experience documented in her practice.

Shanna holds an LCSW and is licensed in Utah. She aims to treat every person with sensitivity and respect, and she adapts conversations to meet unique needs. Her tone is supportive and practical, with an emphasis on small, doable changes.

Taking the first step can feel hard. Shanna encourages people to move at a pace that feels right while working toward clearer goals and better day-to-day coping.

How therapeutic approaches guide online work

Shanna draws on client-centered therapy to keep the conversation shaped around each person's priorities. This approach emphasizes listening, asking clarifying questions, and adapting the pace and focus to what matters most to the client.

She also uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help people notice and change patterns of thinking that contribute to anxiety or low mood. CBT offers clear tools for shifting unhelpful thoughts and testing new behaviors. Mindfulness therapy is included as well, offering simple practices to reduce reactivity and build steady attention during stressful moments.

Choosing the right approach is a shared process. The therapist will review concerns, goals, and preferences with the client and suggest options. Together they decide which methods to try and adjust the plan over time based on what is most helpful.

If you are considering online sessions, confirm the current session options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules, shorten commute time, or allow a quicker check-in between commitments. It can also let people practice skills in the settings where they live and work, then bring those experiences back into sessions for practical coaching and problem solving.