Rebekah Shutter is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Fort Worth, TX specializing in mindfulness-based and holistic therapy for adult individuals and couples. Rebekah’s expertise spans a wide range of mental health topics, including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, addiction, and trauma. She also enjoys working with fellow therapists facing burnout or compassion fatigue. Rebekah is passionate about helping her clients feel more empowered in all aspects of their lives, and she offers convenient evening and weekend virtual sessions to clients throughout Texas to support clients even with the busiest of schedules.
We asked Rebekah more about her work with clients and her guiding philosophies on therapy.
Rebekah’s background and personal life
What was your previous work before going into private practice?
I've worked in psychiatric hospitals for the last ten years in nearly every department and am currently the Director of Clinical Operations at a behavioral health and substance abuse hospital in DFW.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
In my free time, I love to read, paint, play piano, and travel! My hobbies are incredibly important for my work/life balance, and I find that having creative hobbies is a great way to release any emotional tension that builds up over time. When those emotions are released through art or music, I always feel refreshed and re-energized.
Rebekah’s specialties and therapy philosophies
What guiding principles inform your work?
I like therapy sessions to be as authentic and comfortable as possible. I help my clients develop mindfulness that allows them to understand and control their thought processes, so they can begin to create their own solutions to life stressors. My goal is for my clients to work towards achieving a level of equanimity (mental calmness and stability, even in difficult situations) as often as possible.
What clientele do you work with most frequently?
I love working with young adults in college or just out of college, couples experiencing intimacy issues, corporate executives wanting to improve their leadership skills, and other clinicians facing burnout or compassion fatigue.
Can you tell us more about your specialty in helping clients with mood instability and/or mood disorders?
I work with a lot of clients who struggle to understand and control their moods and emotions. I help them move away from feeling that their moods are getting the better of them and help them work with their mood swings in an empowering way.
Can you tell us more about your work with clients struggling with self-doubt?
So many of our problems are created by our own self-doubt. I help clients recognize their limiting beliefs and transform them into strengths. Self-doubt can be crippling but with the right guidance and practice, we can remove the doubt and replace it with genuine confidence.
Can you tell us about your speciality in existential issues?
We all experience existential issues throughout our lives, but these issues can become much more troublesome than they need to be. Establishing purpose and meaning in life, even in the smallest ways, helps to alleviate existential frustration.
What do you find most rewarding about your work?
I honestly get so much energy from doing therapy, and I think that is my favorite part. I consider it a privilege to share breakthrough moments with clients and watch them develop insight, awareness, and ultimately control over their lives.
Therapy sessions with Rebekah
What will our first session together be like? What happens in ongoing sessions?
In the first session, we spend some time getting to know what your "best hopes" are for therapy, so we can establish clear goals for our time together. In the following sessions, we create a working document that helps track progress towards goals and will evolve with your goals over time.
How long do clients typically see you for?
I typically start off seeing a client once a week for the first month. Then we go down to every other week for about three to five months after that. If clients are still needing support, we can start meeting on an as-needed basis once they are ready.
Do you assign “homework” between sessions?
In each session we typically discuss positive actions that can be implemented into everyday life that will help the client reach their goals. Between sessions it is extremely helpful for the client to focus on integrating these actions into their regular routine, so we can evaluate their effectiveness in the next session.
How do you help ensure I'm making progress in therapy?
At the beginning of every session I start by asking "What's been better since we saw each other last?" This gives the client an opportunity to highlight what is going well. It will also let us know if we are working in the right direction or if we need to make adjustments if things are not going well.
How do I know that it’s time to start seeking therapy?
It's usually time to seek therapy when it feels like the stressors of life or your emotions are getting the better of you. If you feel that you are just surviving and not fully thriving in life then therapy is an excellent idea.
How can I prepare for our first session?
Bringing an open mind to your first session is really the most important thing.
How will I know it’s time to end my time in therapy with you or reduce session frequency?
I usually check-in every few sessions so we can make the decision together when it is time to reduce session frequency or end therapy.
Why should I seek therapy, rather than turning to my partner, friends, or other loved ones?
It's great to have a solid support system but our friends and family tend to give us biased advice that might end up causing more harm than good. A therapist provides an unbiased sounding board where you can be completely honest and work together to create lasting changes.
What advice would you share with therapy seekers?
I always tell people who are seeking therapy to be sure that their therapist is a good fit for them. Don't be afraid to change therapists if you feel you aren't getting what you need. Your mental health is too important to spend time and money on therapy that you don't feel is helping you!
Visit Rebekah’s profile to read more about her and contact her for an initial consultation!