Therapist Shirley Butler Photo

Shirley Butler, LCSW

Stress, Anxiety Trauma, Abuse Self esteem, Motivation Depression Coping with life changes
Video Phone Live Chat Messaging

About me

Hi, I'm ShirIey,
I am a 61 year old Native American Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I have over 20 years experience in the mental health field. I have worked in community mental health and I have worked in Tribal Behavioral Health. In both of these agencies I have worked as a crisis on-call therapist on rotation as well as seeing clients in office. Currently, I operate from a private practice which I established in 2013. Although I have spent a great deal of time living and working on the reservation, I have lived in many other cultures and I truly appreciate diversity. I have always been a very curious person so Social Work has been a great outlet for me to explore populations, cultures, and behaviors.

I obtained a Bachelor Degree in 1998 in Human Services Rehabilitation from Salish Kootenai College on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Pablo, MT. I have a Masters in Social Work from Walla Walla University in Missoula, MT in 2004. Once I received my MSW, I practiced for three thousand supervised clinical hours before I was able to sit for my clinical license exam. I have worked with diverse cultures and populations. I am trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing) which has proven beneficial in the treatment of PTSD (Post- traumatic Stress) and other adverse/disturbing experiences. What disturbs or traumatizes us is unique to the individual. I prefer to spend time with each new client building a rapport and an alliance of trust and safety. I like to develop a plan of treatment that is tailored to the unique individual and with full collaboration.

I am a firm believer in the healing process of telling one's own story and areas an individual would like to examine since they are best at knowing the parts of self they believe need to be examined to help them to progress and grow in their desired direction.
I look forward to exploring with you!

Professional experience

23 yrs in practice
Stress, Anxiety Trauma, Abuse Self esteem, Motivation Depression Coping with life changes

Additional areas of focus: Relationship issues, Family conflicts, Grief, Parenting issues, Anger management, Career difficulties, Bipolar disorder, Abandonment, Codependency, Commitment issues, Communication problems, Forgiveness, Post-traumatic stress, Self-love, Women's issues

Clinical approaches: Attachment-Based Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Mindfulness Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused Therapy, Trauma-Focused Therapy

Services offered

Video
Phone
Live Chat
Messaging

License information

MT LCSW BBH-LCSW-LIC-815

Reviews

These quotes represent just a few of the many positive reviews that we have received for Shirley Butler. We don't pay anyone to provide their review and they are all made voluntarily. Some people's experience receiving therapy with BetterHelp might be different.

Shirley Butler is terriffic! She is a thoughtful, experienced, generous, unflappable, and someone I have come to trust implicitly. She's someone who listens deeply and manages to hear the underlying themes and some of the pain that is difficult to express in words. She doesn't put words in your mouth---not at all---but she does hear so well. It makes saying hard things less frightening and more possible to bring to the surface so they can be seen and examined. I feel very fortunate to have her as my therapist.

Written on Apr 24, 2025 after therapy with Shirley for 2 years and 3 months on issues concerning relationship issues, and family conflicts

This is a great app!! I have overcome my last breakup and have learned things about myself I didn’t even know! Great work BetterHelp!! Thank you

Written on Apr 11, 2025 after therapy with Shirley for 3 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, addictions, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, grief, intimacy-related issues, self esteem, anger management, coaching, and adhd

Shirley has been helping me process through significant grief. She has been amazing and very kind.

Written on Mar 24, 2025 after therapy with Shirley for 2 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, grief, intimacy-related issues, self esteem, career difficulties, coping with life changes, compassion fatigue, and adhd

Shirley is knowledgeable and meets clients where they’re at. She offers helpful insight, resources, and clearly has a strong sense of integrity. I appreciate her empathy and compassion.

Written on Jan 31, 2025 after therapy with Shirley for 2 weeks on issues concerning stress, anxiety, relationship issues, and self esteem

She has been very helpful in my situation

Written on Jan 28, 2025 after therapy with Shirley for 3 weeks on issues concerning depression, and sleeping disorders

Shirley has been an amazing partner on my journey. She showed me a great amount of understanding for what I am going through and offered immediate things that I could do to help and steps toward positive change. I have really enjoyed my time spent with her and am better for it.

Written on Jan 07, 2025 after therapy with Shirley for 3 weeks on issues concerning stress, anxiety, addictions, relationship issues, parenting issues, and self esteem