Shelly Flachs, LCSW
Illinois · 12 years in practice
Shelly Flachs is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) based in Illinois who uses Emotionally-Focused Therapy along with practical, skills-based methods.
License and registration
- LCSW, Illinois
- 149.017053 · expires November 2027
- LCSW, Maine
- LC15258 · expires April 2027
- LCSW, Missouri
- 2015011135 · expires September 2026
- LISW, Iowa
- 114010 · expires December 2026
- NPI
- 1114288404 · national provider identifier
- Years in practice
- 12
- Languages
- English
Details are as listed on the therapist's public professional profile. You can check the license with the issuing state board, and the NPI with the national registry.
About Shelly
Shelly Flachs is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) based in Illinois who uses Emotionally-Focused Therapy along with practical, skills-based methods. She brings 12 years of clinical experience and aims to make therapy straightforward and useful for people facing hard moments. Shelly focuses on common concerns such as stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, and addiction.
She also helps with relationship and intimacy-related issues, parenting strain, sleep and eating problems, career stress, and coping with major life changes.
Background and approach
Her background includes working with mood conditions like bipolar disorder and attention-related challenges such as ADHD. In sessions she combines Emotionally-Focused Therapy with cognitive-behavioral tools, dialectical behavior techniques, mindfulness practices, and motivational interviewing. That mix lets her help people name tough emotions, practice new coping skills, and change patterns that get in the way of feeling better.
Sessions are collaborative and goal-oriented. Shelly works to create a respectful space where people can talk through their experiences, try new approaches, and set concrete steps forward. She also addresses issues like caregiver stress, chronic illness, attachment concerns, codependency, and body image in thoughtful, step-by-step ways.
Shelly holds LCSW credentials and has served people across Illinois over a 12-year career. She offers sessions in English and provides a range of online formats to fit different schedules and needs.
Focus areas and approaches
Everything Shelly lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
- Addictions
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Fertility issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches Shelly names
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
Naming an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist lists and does not check training records.
Online support
Emotion-focused and skills-based work online
Emotionally-Focused Therapy helps people recognize and name underlying emotions and the patterns that keep them stuck. It is useful for managing relationship strain, intimacy concerns, and strong emotional reactions by creating clearer emotional understanding and new ways to respond.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on identifying thoughts and behaviors that feed anxiety or depression and then practicing changes. It is practical for stress, mood concerns, sleep and eating issues, and building coping strategies. Dialectical Behavior Therapy adds skills for managing intense emotions, improving distress tolerance, and strengthening interpersonal effectiveness.
Shelly approaches therapy as a collaborative process. She will work with each person to decide which combination of EFT, CBT, or DBT techniques fits their goals and preferences. Together they set clear steps and adjust the plan as needs change.
Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to make care more flexible. Video calls let people work face-to-face from a distance, phone sessions can fit into a short break, live chat supports shorter check-ins, and messaging can help maintain progress between appointments. These options make it easier to schedule therapy around work, caregiving, and daily life while using approaches that focus on emotions and skills.
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Questions people ask
What kinds of concerns does Shelly address?
Shelly works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, addictions, relationship and intimacy-related issues, grief, parenting strain, sleep and eating problems, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and related concerns.
What is her therapeutic style like?
She blends Emotionally-Focused Therapy with CBT, DBT, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing to help people name emotions, learn coping skills, and change unhelpful patterns.
How much experience does she have?
Shelly has 12 years of clinical experience working with a wide range of emotional and behavioral concerns.
What credentials and location are listed for her?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and practices from Illinois.
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to accommodate different needs and schedules.
How are costs handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Click the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions based on the therapist's availability.
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