- Client-centered focus
- Practical coping skills
- 15 years experience
About Crista
Crista Shaw is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) based in Maine who uses a client-centered approach. She focuses on creating an open, nonjudgmental space where people can talk about what matters to them. Crista invites honest conversation and supports each person as they take the first steps toward change.
With 15 years of experience, Crista helps people manage stress and anxiety. She also works with issues related to family conflict, trauma and abuse, anger, and depression. Her practice includes support for grief, eating concerns, parenting strains, and questions about sexuality and identity.
Crista draws on several practical methods to guide sessions, including client-centered work, cognitive behavioral techniques, dialectical behavior strategies, and trauma-focused approaches. She uses these tools to help clients notice patterns, try concrete skills, and build steadier routines. Sessions emphasize clear steps and realistic goals.
People often come for help with co-occurring conditions such as mood disorders, impulsivity, or isolation. Crista also supports those dealing with adoption and foster care challenges, blended family dynamics, and family of origin issues. Her work includes postpartum mood concerns and seasonal affective patterns.
Conversations in her practice are straightforward and focused on what a person needs right now. She encourages small, manageable changes and helps people track progress over time. To begin, clients complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule sessions based on availability.
How her approaches translate to online work
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and understanding a person's experience. Online sessions can use that same listening approach so the therapist follows the client's lead and helps them name what matters most. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at thoughts and behaviors and uses simple exercises to test new patterns; this can be done in session and with short homework between meetings.Finding the right approach is part of the process. Crista will work collaboratively to decide which methods fit a person's goals and day-to-day life. Together they will try techniques, review what helps, and adjust the plan based on progress and preferences.
Session formats are not specified in the biography, so confirm current session options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It can also make it simpler to use worksheets, practice CBT exercises, or review DBT skills between meetings. Ask about available session formats when you schedule to match therapy to your routine and needs.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
15+ years
Listed in
Maine
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does Crista commonly help with?
She supports people facing stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, anger, grief, eating concerns, parenting strain, and questions around sexuality and LGBT issues.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her work is client-centered and nonjudgmental, focusing on open conversation and practical steps. She combines this with CBT, DBT, and trauma-focused ideas as needed.
How long has she been practicing?
Crista has 15 years of professional experience working with people on a range of emotional and family concerns.
What credential does she hold and where is she based?
She is an LCPC, which stands for Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, and practices in Maine.
Can I have sessions in a language other than English?
Sessions are offered in English.
Does Crista work with international clients?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What are the first steps to begin therapy?
To start, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger, use the crisis numbers.