Works with
- Anger
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Depression
How John works
Practical facts
- Credentials
- LCSW
- Licensed in
- New York
- Years in practice
- 25
- Languages
- English
- Session format
- Online, through our partner platform
About John
John Shafer is an LCSW with 25 years of practice who uses practical, evidence-informed approaches to help people manage anger, stress, and life changes. He works in New York and focuses on clear, down-to-earth care. Sessions aim to build skills people can use between meetings.
Shafer blends Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy with client-centered listening. He helps people notice unhelpful patterns, try small changes, and commit to values-based actions.
Background and approach
Work may include learning emotion-regulation skills, shifting thoughts that fuel anger, and building better communication habits. His background includes rural community mental health, school-based settings, and urban and suburban practices. Those settings gave experience with a wide range of life situations and stressors.
He has worked with people across many age groups and socioeconomic backgrounds. Sessions can be individual, group, or short-term goal-focused work depending on what a person needs. Shafer emphasizes plain language, concrete tools, and steady skill practice.
He draws on mindfulness and narrative ideas when they fit the goals of the person in front of him. People who come for help with anxiety, depression, addiction, relationship struggles, parenting demands, grief, or workplace stress often focus on practical steps. Shafer aims to break big problems into manageable tasks.
That approach supports steady progress over time.
What John works with
Everything John lists, in the therapist's own terms. Anger is the reason this directory exists; the rest tells you what usually sits alongside it in John's practice.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Depression
- Addictions
- LGBT
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- Blended family issues
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches John lists
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Existential Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Evidence-based approaches you can use online
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and choose actions that match their values. It is often used for anxiety, anger, and life transitions by teaching mindful awareness and committed steps toward meaningful goals.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on the link between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It breaks down patterns that fuel anger or depression and gives concrete exercises to test new ways of thinking and behaving.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy offers practical skills for regulating strong emotions, tolerating distress, and improving interpersonal effectiveness. These skills can reduce impulsive reactions and improve communication in heated moments.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose and adapt methods based on goals, preferences, and how someone responds in early sessions. That collaborative process helps shape a plan that feels useful and realistic.
Online formats support regular work without the need to travel. Video calls are good for in-depth sessions and visual cues. Phone sessions require less bandwidth and can fit into a short break. Live chat or text messaging can be used for quick check-ins, homework support, and brief coaching between full sessions.
Questions people ask about John
What issues does this therapist help with?
He supports people facing stress, anxiety, anger, depression, addictions, grief, relationship and intimacy concerns, sleep problems, parenting strain, career changes, ADHD, and related challenges.
What is his therapeutic style like?
Work is practical and down-to-earth. Sessions mix acceptance and commitment ideas, cognitive behavioral techniques, and dialectical behavior skills to teach coping and communication tools.
How long has he been practicing?
He has 25 years of experience in social work and clinical settings, including community mental health and school-based practice.
Where is he licensed and based?
He holds an LCSW credential and practices in New York.
Can sessions be conducted in other languages or internationally?
Sessions are offered in English. He is not accepting international clients.
Which session formats are available?
He offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different needs and schedules.
How are sessions billed?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with him?
Choose the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.