Shannon Forbes MA, LPC Associate

Under the Supervision of Diana Cabrera-Stewart, MA, LPC Supervisor (Texas #73994)

Mental Health, Couples Therapy, Parenting, College Planning

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About Shannon Forbes

She/Her/Hers

In the spring of 2020 as Covid befell, during the same months I was sunsetting my first vocation spent twenty years as an English professor and university administrator, I came upon a quote, “The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.” – Frank Lloyd Wright

As the world changed, this quote became my North Star, my goal, my faith and trust that with the help of others, it is possible for a person to build a life that one step at a time, becomes one’s own individual love story. As I navigated an extremely difficult, massive, complex five-year career transition, I began volunteering at MD Anderson working with patients-bedside on the leukemia floor and with post-surgical head and neck cancer patients.

I have lived with a debilitating illness myself since I was in high school.

My husband works on faculty at MD Anderson treating brain and spinal cancer. He and I met early in college and just celebrated our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary; we understand for better, for worse, and sometimes – impossible. I have mentored college-age young adults since I began work in my twenties as a newly minted university professor, and this past August I awoke one morning shocked to realize the day had arrived to take my own daughter to college; my two other children soon will follow.

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Shannon's Focus

I have alongside friends and family, experienced dramatically, the physical, mental, and financial hardships of Covid. I have lost my home in one of Texas’s natural disasters. I have endured severe trauma and have experienced incredible beauty amidst terror. I understand that life is an intersection of it all.

Throughout, I have found that the way we respond, the way we answer the call, the way we fashion our stories, the way we tell ourselves stories in our own heads, creates who we are.

These stories in turn, create our reality, create our life, and affect our health. It can be done on our terms. It can be authentic. It can be real. It can be beautiful. In the field of clinical mental health counseling, we call this Narrative Therapy.

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Shannon's Other Specialities

Also at the heart of my counseling philosophy is the concept of Relational Cultural Theory, the idea that “relational resilience involves movement toward mutually empowering, growth-fostering connections in the face of adverse conditions and traumatic experiences.” (Duffey, T., & Somody, C., 2011). In other words, as a clinical mental health counselor, I believe it is my honor to walk alongside you on your journey in a spirit of deep respect as you create your story.

Amidst the twists, the unpredictability, the pain, the anxiety, the trauma, the hopelessness, the grief, and the loss, you and I can together find the miracles, the goodness, the opportunities, the new relationships, and the hope.

As it all converges, the infinite good and bad, we can make it work. Sometimes, in the best moments, we can make it better than it would have been, had it not all happened. Sometimes, we even can arrive at an unfathomable place of thanksgiving for it all.

Always, I promise you, hand in hand, you and I can find the beauty, even when the pain feels unendurable.

And on the easier days, I am here to share in your relief, in your joy.

Whether it is individual or couples, whether it is Covid life-rebuilding or processing, trauma, wellness, career or life challenges, shifts, workplace stress or dysfunction, counseling issues related to college, loss of home, health, or family, together, we will process it all. We will shape it into a narrative you are proud of, a narrative of who you are, a story of your strength. With the right help, and a lot of love, care, patience, and time, your story, your reality, your life, your truth, more and more each day, can be unimaginatively beautiful, meaningful, and fulfilling.

More About Shannon

In my free time, I love to laugh and binge watch TV with my husband, enjoy Houston’s fantastic restaurants with my friends, cook at home for my family, and to run marathons with my three daughters.

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History And Qualifications

After working in academia for seventeen years as a tenured professor, chair of the department of English, and finally as the Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, in June 2020 I chose to officially sunset my first career and apply to study counseling at the Family Institute at Northwestern University. While there, I did my training at Eddins Counseling Group. I graduated from Northwestern with a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and now work at Eddins as an LPC-Associate.

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Graduate Degree: Master's in Counseling, PhD in English

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What Clients Are Saying

Positive Changes

My experience has been very positive, and I feel that I am seeing some positive changes after my career counseling sessions.

A.S.

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