GET TO KNOW your therapist

Shannon Degnan, LSW

“Fear is excitement without the breath”

Insurances I Accept:

  • BCBS PPO

Ages I work with:

  • 12-64 years old

Languages I speak:

  • English

She will be starting May 1st.

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Who Am I?

Hello! I am Shannon and I identify with she/her pronouns. I am a cisgender female who grew up in a large Irish family but with a rather individualized culture; I absolutely crave & love community. I reside on the Northside of the city and am an advocate for mental health & the real peace that comes from experimenting with different healing modalities & spiritual tools. I engage with my own spiritual practices and therapy to stay grounded. I am also in school for Dance Therapy and know the value of somatic practices that regulate the nervous system.

I love working with:

individuals struggling to accept their body or struggling to have a healthy relationship with food and exercise, people who find they need to escape daily life with substances or other compulsive behaviors (gambling, shopping, overeating, food restriction, sex, porn, skin-picking, self-harm) and those who desire closeness in a relationship but isolate or have anxiety being known or relating with others. I love helping people cultivate a balanced approach to dating and would serve those who have a hard time being single or see a partner as the solution. And just generally, I love helping people know themselves in a more meaningful way; I want to help you find your authenticity and have an easier time navigating your emotional triggers and behavioral patterns.

Some of my favorite approaches include:

CBT, ACT, Motivational Interviewing, Dance Therapy & Somatic interventions

HOW I HELP

I invite my clients to adopt a curious mindset about their internal world and to drop the shame and judgment that can pop up when investigating thoughts/beliefs/emotions/behavioral patterns. I help clients accept where they are at and have compassion for themselves, as I see this as the first step to any change. I don’t think we can shame ourselves into change. I help my clients reach for support while cultivating their own voice, and especially encourage listening to the body when making choices.

Beliefs section:

  • I believe in the pause. And sitting with temporary discomfort until it passes or one can make a decision from a grounded place.
  • I believe that you are always working to know yourself better and that it is the most important thing one can do in life
  • I believe therapy works best as a collaborative process between client and therapist to support the client’s own sense of agency
  • I believe change is possible with support. I believe it’s common to underestimate how much support we need and believe in the extraordinary feats we can accomplish when we reach for more support than we think we need or perhaps deserve.
  • I believe acquainting oneself with the body is part of mental health, and that feeling states in the body precipitate reaching for destructive behaviors.

What it’s like in a session with me

I prioritize safety in my sessions with clients; your internal barometer sets the tone for the material we cover and how deep we go. Therapy can be uncomfortable but I don’t send clients off highly dysregulated and I check in with you during session. We can do work, but if trauma or heavy topics come up I will take time to ground with you before we end.

More about me

Outside of work, I love gluten free baking, a good patty melt, playing the drums and improvising with other musicians, house music, tennis, and my favorite coping skill which is my dance practice (authentic movement). I danced with a marching band in Chicago during the summer of 2021, had a blast, and am looking for another group to perform with. I love learning about other cultures. Yoga is an important part of my self care; I am a bodywork snob and know all the best spots in Chicago for massage and am always investigating new places. I found my passion for dance therapy by attending Ecstatic Dance events for years, and I do enjoy attending drum circles by the lake during the summer. The mind-body connection is a very important part of my life. You won’t find me at a bar, I’m not big into the nightlife scene. But I do unwind with a paint-by-number, a kombucha, and some jazz music when the occasion calls. Seriously, the ones I buy are not for kids and can be quite complicated!

SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT

Schedule your first appointment. For follow up appointments (existing clients), please contact your therapist at 773-774-4444.

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