becky shank, msw, lisw
I’m glad you’re here.
Choosing a therapist (can) feel overwhelming, and finding someone who feels like the right fit matters!. My hope is that as you explore this space, you'll get a sense not only of how I work, but of who I am.
Meet becky.
I believe every person has an inner resource that holds their core healing wisdom. It is not damaged by trauma. It is often hidden beneath years of survival, expectations, fear, and the messages they learned about who they were supposed to be.
Over time, we learn ways of protecting ourselves. Many of those patterns were intelligent, even necessary. But sometimes they can become extreme, cause unintended consequences, and continue long after they've outlived their purpose.
My work isn't about fixing people. It's about creating a space where those protective patterns can soften and be understood, where new possibilities can emerge, and you can begin trusting yourself again.
credentials.
B.A. Psychology - University of Maryland, College Park — 1993
M.S.W. Master Social Work - University of Maryland at Baltimore School of Social Work - 2001
LISW – Licensed Independent Social Worker — Iowa #06201
LISW-CP – Licensed Independent Social Worker — Clinical Pracitice — South Carolina #17839
Mental Health Experience: 33 years
Private practice since 2011
EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, EMDR Institute trained 2013
Advanced EMDR training in trauma, attachment, & dissociation
IFS Level 1 Trained: IFS Institute
TF-CBT: Trauma Focused CBT for adolecents and their families
NLP: Neurolinguistic Programming
Ericksonian Hypnotherapy
Nervous system and somatic therapy informed
My story.
For more than three decades, I've had the privilege of walking alongside people through some of the most difficult and meaningful seasons of their lives.
My work has taken me into homes, schools, shelters, courtrooms, agencies, communities, and private practice — but one truth has remained constant:
People make sense.
Even when they're hurting.
Even when they're stuck.
Even when they don't yet believe in themselves.
I've spent much of my adult life asking the same questions many of my clients ask: Who am I when I stop living by expectation? What matters most? How do I create a life that feels meaningful and true?
I raised a family. I uncoupled from beliefs and programs I had outgrown. I built businesses and experienced the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship. Starting over, taking risks, and navigating uncertainty have given me a deep appreciation for the courage it takes to change your life.
I navigated a divorce at a time when my faith told me that staying, no matter the cost, was the only righteous path. I have sat with profound loss — the kind that arrives without warning and changes the shape of everything. Each of these moments asked me to examine what I actually believed, who I actually was, and what kind of life I actually wanted to live.
They taught me not to waste time. To follow what calls you. To make your life (the actual one, not the performing one) as real and as yours as it can possibly be.
what else guides my practice.
Some of the most important lessons of my career came from working with children and families.
Early in my career, I spent many years in community mental health and family services, including work with children in foster care and adoptive families. I became a certified PCIT therapist and worked as part of a treatment team addressing attachment trauma through family therapy, EMDR, and other approaches.
That work changed me. I saw how often children were asked to heal while continuing to live within the very systems and relationships that shaped their distress. Their behavior rarely existed in isolation—it made sense within the context of their families, relationships, and experiences.
Over time, I became increasingly drawn to what happens before patterns are passed forward. Rather than focusing primarily on intervention after a family is already in crisis, I wanted to use my clinical experience to help adults heal what they carry into their relationships, their parenting, and the lives they are creating.
I believe one of the most meaningful things we can offer the generations that follow us is our willingness to become curious about ourselves. When we begin changing what happens within us, something can change beyond us too.
My practice continues to be shaped by that belief, along with ongoing training in EMDR, IFS and other trauma-focused approaches, my own commitment to personal growth, spiritual exploration, and a lifelong habit of asking questions. I don't think learning—or becoming—ever really ends.
outside the therapy room.
Nature has always been one of my greatest teachers.
It reminds me that nothing in nature is rushed, forced, or shamed for growing at its own pace.
Healing often unfolds in much the same way.
When I'm not working with clients, you'll usually find me outdoors—walking wooded trails, tending the land and animals, or simply hanging in my hammock, where some of my clearest thinking happens.
During my travels and my adventures living in an Airstream, I began photographing and memorializing the landscapes, forests, oceans and quiet moments that captured my attention. Most of the nature photographs on this website are my own and reflect places that have shaped both my life and the way I see the world.
What former clients have shared.
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"I have always been interested in psychology, but you are one of the reasons why I want to continue in this field. You have shown me what a huge impact a good therapist can make in a persons life. Thank you!!!"
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"I was looking back at the past, and realizing how much I have changed since I started seeing you. I know I always tell you thank you and I truly mean it."
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“Thank you so much for everything you did for me and helped me learn over the years. I don't know where I'd be had I not met you and committed myself to my inner work. The techniques I learned from you come in handy every day."
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"I thank you for all the years of giving all that you could to help me! You've given above and beyond and that has not gone unnoticed. I've appreciated every second and am a better person today because of it."
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"I've lived with anxiety for years. EMDR is a non-invasive way to get beyond your past and start living in the present. Between therapy with Mrs. Shank and the EMDR I've been given the tools to deal with everyday stress and get past the things that I've carried around for years, which has helped to ease my anxiety. What a great investment in me!"