Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Herron
Hi Shannon, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
After working years throughout high school and college in a preschool setting and waitressing at local restaurants, I discovered a joy in working with people of all ages, with different personalities, and having opportunities to serve/help others. Initially in college, I majored in Business with an emphasis in Music Business. Because music was a huge part of my life, my desire was to work as an Artist & Repertoire and discover the next best artists for a record label. Thanks to Accounting my junior year of college…and my lack of ability to pass this class, I dropped Accounting and put a pause on the Business Degree. I brainstormed with my roommate at the time, a senior majoring in Social Work, about different options that would feel fulfilling. Social Work…a career where I could work with people, all ages, in multiple environments, earn an income, AND help others? How had I never heard of this degree? It was my second semester of my junior year of college that I switched to Social Work and worked diligently the next three semesters in order to graduate on time.
After graduating in 2006 with my Bachelor’s of Social Work, I moved to Nashville with friends and gained experience working with children and families with emotional and mental health needs and adults with developmental delays. My Nashville roommate at the time received a random brochure in the mail for a Master’s of Social Work program in Miami. After a year living in Nashville, my roommate and I were accepted into an accelerated clinical master’s program and secured a place to live. Before I knew it, a random brochure in the mail turned into me making the 19 hour drive from my family home in West Virginia with a packed car to Miami, Florida. For this next season, I would experience two years’ worth of Master’s college work within a year’s time frame. It was one of the most difficult and most rewarding experiences of my life. For the first time, I was immersed in multiple cultures and experiencing diversity amongst my professors, clients, and friends. In May 2008, I graduated with a Master’s of Social Work degree with an emphasis in clinical therapy, married my now husband two months later, and ventured off to Knoxville, TN…a city we had never visited and didn’t know a soul.
I would spend the next 10 years of my career working for a company where I had the opportunity to help advocate for children who had been institutionalized and separated from their families for months to years at a time. I was also fortunate to assist with transitioning patients from Lakeshore Mental Health Hospital to other appropriate supported housing prior to the hospital’s closure. During this employment, I was able to obtain my license and became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. After ten years of stability and security, I turned in my notice and took the leap into private practice.
I initially took a small leap via the route of joining a private group practice. Here, I was able to learn the ends and outs of Psychotherapy from the business side of things, cut my hours from full time to part time, and free up more time to spend with my children. I also worked diligently with the credentialing process to specialize and become a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor and a Licensed School Social Worker. During Covid, this was a year in which I experienced helping clients live through a whirlwind of trauma, loss, and unexpected changes all while experiencing a global pandemic myself. Physical offices closed and I unexpectedly shifted from sharing space in person with clients to now sharing space over a computer screen from a room in my home. After several months of uncertainty, providing virtual therapy, and not knowing when “things would go back to normal,” I knew this was the right time to make the bigger leap into solo private practice. I took four months off to spend more time with my children and recover from the slap in the face the Covid crisis had created in my life, and I started brainstorming and dreaming about my own business.
Enter August 2021, the launch of All Seasons Counseling. I felt rested emotionally/mentally/physically, secured an office space, and filled my calendar with intake appointments the week I opened. I felt grateful to experience everything I had up until this point. After over 18 years into my career, I can honestly say these last four years have been me living my “dream job.”
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Between two degrees and my current credentials, it has been about a nine year journey including schooling, clinical supervision, trainings, and a large financial investment to do what I do currently. Employment wise, the most stressful experience for me was taking the initial leap from a full time, full benefits, salary job that felt comfortable, predictable, and offered security…to a foreign work environment that was commission based, no benefits, and unpredictable hours. Would I fill my caseload? Would new clients want to work with me? The uncertainty was the roughest patch on the road. However, I feel so fortunate that I left a job with supportive co-workers and joined a group practice of supportive co-workers. By the time I took the big leap into my own practice, I had well over a decade in my career and gained confidence in the areas I was lacking in years past. Thankfully, because of networking and great relationships with preschools, schools, fellow therapists, and psychologists…it’s been a smooth road towards the journey of All Seasons Counseling. I may have taken the pace of the tortoise, but I certainly feel like I’ve won the race at the end of the day.
We’ve been impressed with All Seasons Counseling, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I offer a variety of psychotherapy and consultation services that mostly cater to individuals and families from all seasons of life, whether that is a certain season age wise…or perhaps a certain season of life experience (ie. life transitions, parenthood, relationships, divorce, etc). Below are services that I offer in person and virtually:
Play Therapy: I specialize in Play Therapy services for ages 3yrs to 12yrs, specifically Child Centered, Filial, and Jungian Play Therapy. Play Therapy is an evidenced based clinical therapy approach for children who will communicate their experiences, thoughts, feelings, or trauma through play, sand tray work, or art. Play is the language of a child and the toys are their vocabulary. This modality can benefit children with anxiety, trauma, ADHD, Autism, depression, separated/divorced families, barriers with social skills/emotional literacy, low self-esteem, and adoption/foster care. For more information about Play Therapy, please visit www.a4pt.org.
Parent/Caregiver Work: I offer Child Parent Relationship Therapy (an approach to learn the skills of Play Therapy) and Filial Play Therapy (joint parent and child session). These modalities aim for healthy attachment between the child and parent/caregivrer. Additional sessions are held with parents in person or virtually to dig deeper in understanding unresolved trauma, generational trauma, discovering healthy ways to create strong attachment with their current family unit, and become more informed with psychoeducational tools to add to their toolbox.
Individual Therapy: I utilize a Person-Centered Therapy approach as my root modality and add additional modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness, or Solution Focused Therapy for adolescents, teens, or adults experiencing relationship issues, anxiety, depression, barriers with life transitions, etc.
Classroom Observations/Classroom Play Support: I offer classroom observations at local preschools, daycares, and private schools to observe the environment and interaction between the child client, peers, and staff. Observations can also be requested by schools to support their staff and ensure the highest quality of engagement with the children. I also offer onsite services for child clients to provide emotional/mental health support through modeling and direct play with the client and their peers in the classroom. This service is combined with individual Play Therapy services at my office where assistance can be provided 1:1 in the therapy space and also systemically in the school environment if barriers are present amongst peers/staff.
Education and Training: I provide services to local preschools, daycares, schools, and churches that include a two-hour training with foundational information regarding childhood mental health, practical approaches for staff to utilize when supporting challenging behaviors in the classroom, and empowering families who are experiences difficulties.
Consultation and Supervision: I am an approved supervisor in the state of Tennessee for pre-licensed therapists working to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker or Licensed Professional Counselor. I am also an approved supervisor through the Association for Play Therapy for clinicians working towards their credential as a Registered Play Therapist. I am passionate about helping up and coming therapists gain more knowledge and skills, specifically when working with children and families.
Couples Counseling: I am a Level 1 trained Gottman Therapist and will complete Level 2 in early spring 2025. I anticipate opening my calendar for couples therapy in late Spring/early Summer 2025. To learn more about the Gottman Method, please visit https://www.gottman.com/about/the-gottman-method/
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
I have learned that things can change drastically and unexpectedly very quickly! Covid-19 was a completely different experience for so many people and the first time in history the world experienced the same extreme shift. An analogy I heard during the crisis helped me gain a better perspective: some folks were experiencing this crisis from their yacht with all of their basic needs being met…the waters were calm and life didn’t feel much different than prior to the crisis. For others, the Covid crisis felt like a life-boat on choppy waters where people were safe…but the uncertainty of the future created fear, anxiety, and doubt. Many unfortunately, were barely grasping onto a buoy in the middle of the ocean with 100 foot tall waves crashing all around. Thousands of families experienced the loss of loved ones, the loss of businesses, the loss of connection with relationships, or the loss of in person experiences during crucial stages in their lives. The world experienced the same storm, but not everyone was in the same boat.. What I learned most of all, is that people are strong, people are resilient, and that we weren’t created to live isolated and alone. Humans need self-care, connection, support, and authentic relationships. Fred Rogers explains it best, “Human relationships are primary in all of living. When the gusty winds blow and shake our lives, if we know that people care about us, we may bend with the wind … but we won’t break.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/shannon-r-herron-knoxville-tn/886004
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShannonHerronLCSW
