Shannon Bode, LMFT - Therapist in California

About Shannon

Shannon Bode is a licensed marriage and family therapist who focuses on stress, anxiety, relationship concerns, family issues, grief, and self-esteem. She brings nineteen years of clinical experience to sessions and aims to create a space where people feel seen and understood. Her approach emphasizes connection and steady support for people during difficult times.

She works relationally and draws on several methods to help clients name painful patterns and try new ways of relating.

Background and approach

Shannon often helps people notice how past experiences shape current reactions and how those patterns can be changed. She explains things plainly and uses practical, emotionally grounded steps in session. Her training includes client-centered work that centers the person’s experience, mindfulness practices to build calm and presence, and narrative techniques that help people reframe their life stories.

She also uses psychodynamic ideas to track recurring themes and trauma-focused tools when past wounds are active in daily life. Shannon pays attention to identity and the wider context that affects emotional life. She supports clients who are working through abandonment, attachment challenges, caregiver stress, codependency, communication problems, divorce and separation, and family problems.

She also addresses body image, guilt and shame, loneliness, grief including hospice and end-of-life issues, and questions about life purpose. Sessions are offered in English and take place with a licensed California LMFT. Her practice aims to help people find steadiness, clearer understanding, and more satisfying ways of connecting to themselves and others.

Therapeutic approaches adapted for online care

Client-centered therapy focuses on the person in front of the therapist, prioritizing empathy and understanding so clients can talk through what matters most. This approach helps when people need a calm, listening space to explore feelings and make their own choices. Mindfulness therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce distress and improve emotional regulation, which can be useful for stress and anxiety. Narrative therapy helps people separate themselves from painful stories by looking at the meanings they give events and rewriting those narratives to open up new possibilities.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will work with each client to identify goals and try methods that match those needs and preferences. Over time the approach can shift as the work unfolds, combining techniques as useful and discussing options together.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility for busy lives. Video calls allow face-to-face conversations from home, phone sessions provide a simpler option when video is not possible, and live chat or text-based messaging can support shorter check-ins or ongoing reflection between sessions. These formats make it easier to keep continuity of care while fitting therapy into a daily routine.

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.

Mindfulness Therapy

Attention training: noticing thoughts and physical feelings as they arrive without being carried off by them. Much of it is practice you do yourself, so guidance over video or audio works much as it would in person.

Narrative Therapy

Looking at the story you have come to tell about yourself, and where it came from. The work is in separating the problem from your identity and finding accounts that fit you better.

Frequently asked questions

What kinds of concerns does she help with?

Shannon works with stress, anxiety, relationship concerns, family problems, grief, and self-esteem. She also addresses issues like abandonment, attachment, caregiver stress, codependency, and life purpose.

How would you describe her therapeutic style?

Her style is relational and down-to-earth. She aims to make people feel seen while using practical steps and emotional reflection to support change.

What is her professional background?

She has nineteen years of clinical experience working with a broad range of emotional and relational concerns. Her work is trauma-informed and attentive to identity.

What credentials and location are listed for this therapist?

She is a licensed marriage and family therapist - LMFT - with license number CA LMFT 77737, practicing in California.

In which languages are sessions offered?

Sessions are offered in English.

What session formats are available?

Therapy sessions can be done via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging.

How are costs and payment handled?

Cost varies with location and therapist availability and sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.

What are the first steps to begin working together?

To start, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.

Specialties and expertise

Top specialties

Stress, Anxiety
Relationship issues
Family conflicts

Therapeutic approaches

Experience: 19 years
Licensed: California
Languages: English

Next step

Talk to Shannon

Takes a few minutes
Nothing to set up just to look
Stop at any point

Book with Shannon