Shirley Colee, LMHC

Shirley Colee is a Florida-based licensed mental health counselor with 20 years of experience helping people manage relationship struggles, trauma, grief, and addictive behaviors. She aims to make the first step feel manageable and affirms the courage it takes to seek support. Conversations are shaped around each person's needs and goals.

Shirley uses straightforward, respectful talk to help clarify problems and set practical next steps. She listens for what matters most to the client and adjusts the pace and focus of sessions accordingly. Many people come for help with anxiety, depression, stress, and issues around intimacy or parenting.

Her background includes long-term work with people facing trauma and abuse, along with family conflict and substance-related concerns. That experience informs how she responds to crisis moments and ongoing challenges. She brings tools drawn from a mix of counseling methods rather than a single fixed style.

In sessions Shirley may draw on client-centered ideas to prioritize the client’s perspective. She also uses cognitive behavioral techniques to address unhelpful thinking and dialectical behavior strategies for emotional regulation. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing is another approach she may use for trauma-focused work.

Clients can expect a collaborative tone that focuses on what feels useful in day-to-day life. Shirley tailors conversations and plans to each person’s situation, aiming to build skills that fit real routines. She supports people working through life changes, caregiving strain, codependency, and related concerns.

How these approaches translate to online therapy

Client-centered therapy emphasizes listening and following the client's priorities. Online sessions using this approach focus on hearing what matters most and shaping conversations around those concerns, which can help with relationship strain and life transitions.

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at patterns of thinking and behavior. In online sessions CBT often includes setting concrete goals, practicing new skills between meetings, and checking progress over time to reduce anxiety and depression symptoms.

Dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT, teaches emotional regulation and coping strategies. Online work with DBT ideas can include learning grounding and distress-tolerance skills that people use during stressful moments.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Shirley will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their goals and preferences. That conversation typically happens early and can change as needs evolve.

Session logistics should be confirmed before booking since specific formats were not listed in the biography. Ask which kinds of online or remote sessions are offered and how scheduling works. Many people find online meetings can fit into busy days, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and make it easier to keep continuity during life changes.