Sharon (Shonnie) Brown, LMFT
California · 30 years in practice
Sharon (Shonnie) Brown is a licensed marriage and family therapist who helps people facing stress, anxiety, relationship struggles, self-esteem issues, and life transitions.
License and registration
- LMFT, California
- 30787 · expires January 2027
- Years in practice
- 30
- 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 Sharon
Sharon (Shonnie) Brown is a licensed marriage and family therapist who helps people facing stress, anxiety, relationship struggles, self-esteem issues, and life transitions. She draws on three decades of clinical experience in California to guide clients through separation, grief, career shifts, and challenges like ADHD and trauma. Shonnie writes plainly and directly in sessions.
She uses conversation, goal setting, and practical coping skills to build stronger emotional habits. Writing exercises are often added for insight and healing when clients find them useful.
Background and approach
Her approach blends existential questions about meaning with attachment-focused work and cognitive tools. That mix lets people name painful patterns, practice new behaviors, and make choices that fit their values. Mindfulness and emotion regulation skills are used to help when feelings feel overwhelming.
Shonnie trained at the University of California, Berkeley, and earned a master’s degree in counseling psychology from JFK University in Orinda, California. She has led groups on separation, divorce, infidelity, co-parenting, and social anxiety over her career. She often focuses on problems rooted in difficulty self-soothing, low self-compassion, and trouble setting healthy boundaries.
Sessions aim to strengthen self-protection, self-love, and practical coping so clients can take manageable steps forward.
Focus areas and approaches
Everything Sharon lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- ADHD
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Depression
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Divorce and separation
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Guilt and shame
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Money and financial issues
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Sharon names
- Existential Therapy
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Somatic Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
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
Therapeutic approaches and online care
Shonnie often draws on existential therapy to help people face life’s big questions and to find meaning during change or loss; this approach supports work on life purpose, aging concerns, and coping with transitions. Attachment-based work is used to look at how early bonds shape current relationships and to improve emotional connection and communication. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) provides concrete tools to shift unhelpful thoughts and build new coping skills for anxiety, depression, and stress.Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will listen to each person’s situation, try different methods, and agree on goals together. That way the plan fits the client’s needs, values, and pace instead of being fixed from the start.
Online sessions are available by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy more flexible. Video is useful for fuller interaction and nonverbal cues. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text messaging can serve as shorter check-ins, ongoing support between sessions, or an easier way to fit therapy into a busy schedule.
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Questions people ask
What kinds of concerns does she help with?
Her practice addresses stress, anxiety, depression, relationship and intimacy issues, parenting strain, grief, trauma and abuse, career and life transitions, ADHD, and self-esteem struggles.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
She is honest and direct but caring, combining existential reflection with practical tools like goal setting, mindfulness, and writing exercises.
What is her clinical background and experience?
She has more than 30 years of experience as a licensed marriage and family therapist and has led groups on separation, divorce, infidelity, co-parenting, and social anxiety.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She holds the LMFT credential and practices in California.
Which languages are offered for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available?
Sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions are provided through a subscription 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 according to therapist availability.
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