PuttingFamilyFirst

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RB Portrait of Ryan Shelby Butler
Online therapist

Ryan Shelby Butler

Calm, practical guidance for family and parenting concerns

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Credentials
LPC
Experience
7 years
Licensed in
Arizona
Languages
English
Format
Online sessions

About Ryan

Ryan Shelby Butler is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Arizona who focuses on helping people facing stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, and family or parenting concerns. He works with adults and younger clients in ways that feel practical and down-to-earth. He uses skills-based tools to help people manage emotions and handle life’s hard moments.

Ryan draws on seven years of counseling experience and formal training in counseling and leadership. He earned a Master of Science in Professional Counseling and a Master of Science in Leadership, along with earlier undergraduate study that included psychology and philosophy.

Background and approach

His education also includes post-graduate coursework in Christian counseling, shaping a values-sensitive approach. In sessions he blends person-centered listening with structured techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy. He also uses attachment-based ideas to look at how relationships shape feelings and behavior.

That combination lets him teach concrete skills while also attending to personal values and meaning. Ryan often integrates solution-focused planning and psychoeducation so people leave sessions with tools to use at home. He notes life experience as part of his style, bringing roles as a husband, father, and church leader into a practical, grounded therapeutic stance.

He aims for short, clear steps clients can try between meetings. People who choose him should expect collaborative goal-setting and straightforward feedback. He communicates in plain language and focuses on building coping strategies, improving relationships, and addressing parenting and family stresses.

The therapy process emphasizes steady progress and real-world changes.

Using evidence-based approaches in online therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on clarifying what matters to a person and building small committed actions toward those values while learning to live with difficult thoughts and feelings. It can help with anxiety, depression, and life changes by shifting attention toward meaningful activity. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, teaches specific skills to identify and change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns. It is often used for anxiety, depression, and stress by giving concrete tools to test and revise beliefs. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early and current relationship patterns affect emotions and behavior, helping people understand and change how they relate to others and to themselves.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. The therapist works collaboratively to match methods to a client's needs, goals, and preferences. Sessions may try different techniques and adjust the plan over time so the work feels useful and manageable.

Online therapy offers flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. These formats let people fit therapy around family, work, or school commitments and keep progress moving between in-person obligations. With clear agendas, skill practice, and regular check-ins, online sessions can deliver the same practical tools and relational focus as face-to-face work while making it easier to attend consistently.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Less about arguing with difficult thoughts, more about loosening their grip and acting on what matters to you anyway. Values and committed action carry the work, which suits conversation at a distance.

Attachment-Based Therapy

Looks at how early bonds shaped what you expect from closeness, and how that plays out now with a partner, a parent, or your own children.

Client-Centered Therapy

The direction comes from you rather than from a set programme. The therapist offers a warm, non-judgemental space to think out loud and work at your own pace. Online, this rests on the relationship rather than on being in the same room.

Frequently asked questions

What kinds of problems does he help with?
He works with stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, grief, trauma, anger, relationship and family concerns, parenting issues, ADHD, and related struggles such as self-esteem and intimacy problems.
What is his general therapy style?
He uses a mix of person-centered listening and skills-based methods. Sessions often include clear strategies from cognitive and dialectical approaches paired with values-focused conversations.
How much clinical experience does he have?
He has seven years of professional counseling experience and a background that includes work in higher education and community roles.
What credentials and region should I know about?
Ryan is a Licensed Professional Counselor, credential AZ LPC LPC-21321, practicing in Arizona.
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available?
He offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging as ways to connect for therapy.
How are fees and payment handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with him?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.

Specialties and expertise

Top specialties

Also works with

Therapeutic approaches

Experience
7 years
Licensed
Arizona
Languages
English

Next step

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