Shannon Fennell, AMFT

I believe the relationship between therapist and client is the foundation for meaningful change. Therapy should feel safe, collaborative, and paced in a way that works for you. When the fit feels right, growth has room to happen. I often think of therapy like tending a garden—we plant seeds of insight together, and you help decide how and when they grow.

My therapeutic style is warm, engaged, direct, and a little unconventional. I use evidence-based approaches while also bringing humor, honest reflection, and gentle challenge into our work. Clients often tell me I “say it like it is,” while still feeling supported and understood. Together, we may explore how past experiences, relationships, family systems, and learned patterns shape your life today, while building healthier patterns for the future.

My background in anthropology and evolutionary psychology informs how I understand human behavior. I’m interested in how humans have adapted to survive, connect, protect themselves, foster relationships, and navigate changing environments. In therapy, we can explore what has worked so far, what isn’t working anymore, and what new ways of responding may better fit the life you’re living now.

I work with teens, adults, couples, and parents navigating concerns including ADHD, anxiety, relationship and dating issues, premarital and marital conflict, infidelity, grief, self-esteem, adoption and foster care, and women’s mental health. I especially enjoy supporting women and mothers who feel overwhelmed, overfunctioning, emotionally exhausted, or close to burnout.

I am not just trauma-informed; I am trauma-focused and experienced in working with childhood trauma, complex trauma, intergenerational trauma, religious trauma, sexual trauma, and betrayal trauma. I also offer walk-and-talk therapy for clients who prefer a movement-based approach.

My advanced training includes:

• Certified Sex Therapy Informed Professional (CSTIP)

• Gottman Method Couples Therapy

• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for trauma

• National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training through the American Psychiatric Association

I am also a member of PACT—An Adoption Alliance, supporting adoptees and adoptive families.

I earned my BA in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies from Franklin University Switzerland, with undergraduate studies in anthropology, and my Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University, Santa Barbara.

Having lived on multiple continents and traveled extensively, I bring an international and culturally responsive perspective to therapy. I work with clients from diverse identities, sexual orientations and gender identities, religions and spiritual backgrounds, cultures, family systems, immigration and documentation statuses, and lived experiences. I strive to create a welcoming, affirming space where every part of your story is respected and valued.

Outside of therapy, I enjoy traveling, studying Spanish, gardening, cooking, yoga, ceramics, and spending time with my dogs. I believe therapy is ultimately about helping people create lives that feel more connected, sustainable, and meaningful.

My fee is $190 per session, and I offer limited sliding scale spaces. If you have any questions or would like to explore working together, please don’t hesitate to reach out.