About Karen
Karen Shaughness is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) based in New York with 38 years of experience. She offers a calm, practical approach to therapy and focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, mood concerns, and life changes. Her style is warm and straightforward, aimed at making the first steps easier for someone feeling overwhelmed.
She draws on client-centered work to build a trusting relationship and uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to address unhelpful thoughts and behaviors.
Background and approach
Mindfulness techniques are introduced to help people with anxiety, sleep, and attention. Motivational Interviewing is used when people want support changing habits, such as substance use or coping patterns. Karen has substantial experience with addictions, family problems, grief, trauma, and workplace or first responder stress.
She also helps people facing relationship strain, codependency, parenting pressures, and career transitions. Her background includes hospital work and many years supporting people through intense life events. Sessions aim to be practical.
People can expect clear goals, tools they can use between meetings, and a focus on small, steady changes. She values listening carefully and tailoring steps to each person’s situation. Outside of work Karen enjoys outdoor time, kayaking, concerts, gardening, and long walks with her Golden Retriever.
That personal sense of balance informs her belief that steady, manageable changes are often the most sustainable.
Therapeutic approaches for online care
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and creating a respectful, nonjudgmental space so people can talk through what matters most. It helps when someone needs empathy and guidance to find their own solutions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at the link between thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches practical skills to reduce anxiety, manage mood, and change unhelpful habits. Mindfulness Therapy introduces simple attention and breathing practices to reduce worry and improve sleep and focus.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose methods that match their goals, preferences, and daily life. Treatment can shift over time as needs change, and decisions are made together in session.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to connect. Video calls let people see facial cues and have deeper conversations. Phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging are useful for quick updates, brief coaching, or for people who prefer writing. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules, manage ongoing concerns, and maintain steady progress.
Frequently asked questions
What concerns can Karen help with?
What is her therapeutic style like?
How much experience does she have?
What are her credentials and where is she based?
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also works with
- ADHD
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 38 years
- Licensed
- New York
- Languages
- English