About Gretchen
Gretchen Shay brings 14 years of clinical social work experience to help people navigate stress, anxiety, addiction, grief, relationship struggles, trauma and abuse, eating concerns, parenting challenges, and self-esteem issues.
Background and approach
She also addresses related areas such as abandonment, attachment and blended family issues, codependency, body image, cancer-related concerns, and recovery from drug or alcohol addiction. Gretchen practices from a compassionate, nonjudgmental stance and emphasizes practical strategies alongside deeper exploration of patterns that affect daily life.
Her style is warm and interactive, rooted in respect and sensitivity. She blends client-centered principles with cognitive and emotion-focused techniques, using motivational interviewing and narrative approaches when they suit a person’s goals.
Gretchen adapts dialogue and plans to each client’s needs while avoiding stigmatizing labels. Licensed in both Illinois and Alabama as an LCSW and LICSW, she works with people confronting major life transitions, family dynamics, and co-morbid health or mental health concerns.
She aims to support clients in building coping skills, improving relationships, and moving toward meaningful change.
Therapeutic Approaches and Online Support
Gretchen often draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help clients identify and shift unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, which can be useful for anxiety, depression, and stress-related concerns. She also uses Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) to explore and strengthen emotional connections and patterns, a helpful approach for relationship and attachment-related issues. Additionally, Motivational Interviewing is employed to support people who are ambivalent about change and to strengthen commitment to recovery or behavior change.
Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Gretchen works with each client to assess goals, preferences, and the challenges at hand, then tailors techniques and pacing so treatment fits the person rather than forcing a single method on every situation.
Online therapy with Gretchen is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. These formats make it easier to maintain continuity of care during life transitions, manage time constraints, and access therapeutic support from where the client is located in Alabama.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Family conflicts
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Infidelity
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Parenting issues
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Trichotillomania
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 14 years
- Licensed
- Alabama, Illinois
- Languages
- English