About Shaela
Shaela Amaya is a licensed mental health counselor in New York who helps people facing anxiety, depression, stress, low self-esteem, relationship strain, trauma, anger, ADHD, and life changes. She works with concerns that also include parenting and foster care issues, body image, workplace stress, and obsessive or compulsive patterns. Shaela speaks English and accepts international clients.
Her style is warm and interactive. Sessions are respectful and focused on practical steps.
Background and approach
She leans on somatic techniques to help people notice how stress shows up in the body. She also uses client-centered work to follow each person's pace and priorities. Shaela uses cognitive behavioral ideas to help clients spot and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors.
She draws on dialectical behavior skills when emotional regulation and distress tolerance are needed. Emotionally-focused ideas guide work on closeness and communication in relationships. With three years as a practicing clinician, Shaela aims to build straightforward plans that match what each person wants to achieve.
She pays attention to everyday pressures like caregiving, immigration stress, and workplace demands. Her approach blends talking, practical exercises, and body-aware practices so people can use new skills between sessions. Clients see her for a range of challenges from trauma and abuse to mood disorders and commitment concerns.
She frames therapy as a collaborative effort and invites people ready for change to take the next step. The focus stays on clear goals and steady progress.
Therapeutic approaches and online options
Shaela blends somatic work with client-centered and cognitive behavioral approaches to help people manage distress and build practical skills. Somatic work invites attention to bodily sensations and breath to reduce tension and ground someone when anxiety or trauma feels overwhelming. Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and following the person's priorities so goals arise from what matters most to them. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps identify unhelpful thoughts and test new behaviors to reduce symptoms like anxiety or low mood.Choosing the right approach is part of the process, and Shaela treats it as a collaborative exploration. She will work with each person to decide which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences and adjust the plan as progress is made.
Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. These formats let people access therapy from home or work, use shorter check-ins by message when helpful, and combine longer video sessions with follow-up texting for practice and support between meetings.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Domestic violence
- Family conflicts
- Forgiveness
- Immigration issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Relationship issues
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 3 years
- Licensed
- New York
- Languages
- English