Shirley Souder, LMFT, LCSW
Compassionate practical help for everyday parenting challenges
Book with Shirley- Years in practice
- 43
- Credentials
- LMFT, LCSW
- Licensed in
- Indiana
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Relationship issues
- Focus
- Family conflicts
About Shirley
Shirley Souder is a licensed marriage and family therapist and a licensed clinical social worker in Indiana. She draws on 43 years of clinical experience to help people sorting through stress, anxiety, relationship struggles, grief, and parenting questions. Shirley speaks plainly and focuses on practical steps people can try between sessions.
Her approach centers on understanding how behaviors and choices fit into daily life. She combines attachment-focused ideas with client-centered listening and cognitive-behavior tools.
Background and approach
That means she helps people notice patterns, test small changes, and practice different ways of responding. Shirley offers concrete skills for emotional forgiveness, handling difficult people, and building healthier routines. She also supports people facing addiction, compassion fatigue, career transitions, and major life changes.
Sessions often include goal-setting, role practice, and problem-solving exercises. Her educational background includes degrees in psychology and Christian counseling, and she weaves faith-based concerns into sessions when clients want that included. She uses motivational interviewing techniques to help people clarify goals and find their own motivation for change.
People come to Shirley for help with self-esteem, intimacy-related concerns, ADHD struggles, and coping after trauma or loss. She explains options in straightforward terms and works with each person to create practical next steps. Shirley practices from Indiana and offers a range of online session formats.
What Shirley works with
Everything Shirley lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Shirley helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Self esteem
- Addictions
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Depression
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches Shirley lists
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Motivational Interviewing
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Therapeutic approaches adapted for online parenting support
Shirley often uses Attachment-Based Therapy to explore how early patterns shape current relationships and parenting responses. This approach helps people notice connection patterns and practice new ways of relating that reduce conflict and improve closeness.She also draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing small behavioral changes. CBT is useful for anxiety, stress, and building new routines that support parenting goals.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. Shirley will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and life demands, then suggest methods to try together. The plan is collaborative and can change as progress is made.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video sessions allow face-to-face interaction and role practice, phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited, live chat is useful for quick check-ins, and messaging supports short coaching-style guidance. These options make it easier to fit sessions into busy days, keep momentum between meetings, and choose a format that feels most comfortable.
Questions people ask about Shirley
What kinds of concerns does Shirley address?
She focuses on stress, anxiety, depression, relationship and intimacy-related concerns, grief, parenting questions, trauma and abuse, addictions, career transitions, and self-esteem issues.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her style blends attachment-focused listening, client-centered empathy, and cognitive-behavior techniques to create clear, practical steps people can try between sessions.
What is her background and clinical experience?
She has 43 years of clinical experience and incorporates motivational interviewing and emotional forgiveness skills into her work.
Where is she licensed and based?
She is licensed as an LMFT and an LCSW in Indiana and provides services from that state.
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English and Shirley accepts international clients as well.
What session formats are available?
Sessions are available by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What are the first steps to begin therapy?
To begin, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.
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