Therapist profile
Gretchen Shay, LCSW, LICSW
Licensed Clinical Social Worker - Family and parenting concerns
Continue with GretchenAbout
- Stress and anxiety
- Parenting support
- CBT and EFT methods
About Gretchen
Gretchen Shay is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) with 14 years of clinical experience. She practices in Alabama and works with adults on common concerns such as stress, anxiety, depression, parenting strain, relationship problems, addiction, grief, and trauma. She also addresses issues like self-esteem, coping with life changes, and compassion fatigue.
Gretchen keeps sessions conversational and practical. She uses clear, problem-focused methods so people can notice change between meetings. Treatment often includes talking through patterns, learning new behavior tools, and exploring emotions tied to family history or current relationships.
Her background includes work with medical patients and their caregivers, which shaped her approach to loss, serious illness, and end-of-life concerns. She has experience with blended family issues, attachment and abandonment struggles, codependency, and eating or body-image problems. Those threads often show up alongside addiction and co-morbid concerns.
In session she draws from client-centered ideas alongside cognitive-behavioral and emotionally-focused methods. Motivational interviewing and narrative techniques also inform the work when change planning or reauthoring personal stories is useful. The emphasis is on practical steps and clearer understanding of how past relationships affect current patterns.
Gretchen asks people to consider what they want to change and what feels manageable first. To start you complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule an initial meeting. Costs vary by location and use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How sessions work
How her approaches translate to online sessions
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and following what matters to the person. It helps when someone needs a respectful, reflective space to sort feelings and decide next steps. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and behavior and teaches concrete tools to reduce anxiety, mood symptoms, and unhelpful habits. Emotionally-Focused Therapy helps people identify and name difficult emotions and the interactional patterns that keep relationship strain going; it can be useful when family history or attachment wounds affect current life.Finding the right mix of methods is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with the client to choose approaches that fit their goals, personality, and the problems they bring. That plan can change as progress and new information emerge.
Practical benefits of remote sessions include fitting meetings into a busy day and shorter check-ins when needed. The biography does not list specific session formats here, so confirm the available online options before booking. Online work can still use CBT worksheets, emotionally-focused exercises, motivational interviewing prompts, and narrative writing tasks adapted for video or phone sessions to help daily life feel more manageable.
Areas of focus
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
14+ years
Listed in
Alabama, Illinois
Languages
English
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Which everyday concerns does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, parenting strain, relationship problems, addiction, grief, trauma, and related family issues.
What is her therapy style like?
Sessions are conversational and interactive, focusing on practical steps and learning new skills to change unhelpful patterns.
How long has she practiced?
She has 14 years of experience as a clinical social worker in therapeutic roles.
What credentials does she hold and where does she practice?
She holds LCSW and LICSW credentials and practices in Alabama with licensure also in Illinois noted.
Can she work with non-English speakers or international clients?
Sessions are offered in English and she is not accepting international clients at this time.
What session formats are available?
Session formats are not listed here; please confirm the current session options before booking.
How does payment work?
Cost varies with location and services use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin if I want to work together?
Use the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule your first session.
Details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. A license can be checked with the state board.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If anyone is in danger, use the crisis numbers.