Shirley Butler, LCSW
Licensed in Montana · 23 years in practice
Shirley Butler is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 23 years in the mental health field.
License and registration
- LCSW, Montana
- BBH-LCSW-LIC-815 · expires December 2026
- NPI
- 1619151669 · national provider identifier
- Years in practice
- 23
- Languages
- English
Details are as listed on the therapist's public professional profile. You can check any license with the state board and any NPI with the national registry.
About Shirley
Shirley Butler is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 23 years in the mental health field. She started in community and Tribal behavioral health and opened a independent practice in 2013. She brings long experience responding to crisis calls and to scheduled therapy sessions.
She prefers to begin by building a strong rapport. That means listening to a person’s story and understanding what matters most to them. Together she and the client shape a treatment plan that fits the person’s goals and life circumstances.
Background and approach
Her work addresses stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, grief, self-esteem, and coping with life changes. She also focuses on relationship concerns, family issues, parenting, career stress, anger, and mood conditions such as bipolar disorder. Additional interests include abandonment, codependency, commitment issues, communication problems, forgiveness, and self-love.
Her approach draws on several clinical methods to match the client’s needs. She uses attachment-based ideas to look at close relationships, client-centered listening to follow what matters to the person, and cognitive-behavioral strategies to address troubling thoughts and behaviors. Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Emotionally-Focused Therapy are also part of her toolbox when they fit the work.
Shirley trained in Montana and has worked across cultures, including time living and working on a reservation. She offers sessions in English and accepts international clients for online formats. Her Montana location informs her perspective but she works with people from varied backgrounds.
Focus areas and approaches
Everything Shirley lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Self esteem
- Depression
- Coping with life changes
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Abandonment
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Forgiveness
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self-love
- Women's issues
Approaches Shirley names
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Solution-Focused 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
How Shirley’s Approaches Translate to Online Care
Attachment-based work looks at how relationships shape feelings and behavior, and it helps when people want to understand patterns in close relationships and feel more supported. Client-centered therapy focuses on careful listening and following the person’s priorities, which supports people who need a respectful space to tell their story and decide next steps. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, helps identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors and can be useful for anxiety, depression, and coping with life transitions.Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. Shirley will talk with each person about their goals, symptoms, and preferences, then recommend methods that fit. That decision is collaborative and can change over time as progress is made.
Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video calls let people use visual cues and longer sessions, phone sessions can be simpler when bandwidth is limited or a quick check-in is needed, chat works well for shorter moments of support, and messaging allows ongoing contact between scheduled meetings. These formats offer flexibility for different schedules and daily rhythms while keeping focus on the therapeutic goals.
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Questions people ask
What concerns does she commonly address?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, grief, self-esteem, and coping with life changes, along with relationship and family issues.
What is her general therapy style?
Her style is collaborative and listening-focused, starting with a person’s story and then building a tailored treatment plan together.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has 23 years of experience in mental health, including community mental health, Tribal behavioral health, crisis on-call work, and independent practice since 2013.
What credentials and location are listed for this therapist?
She holds a Licensed Clinical Social Worker credential (LCSW) and practices from Montana.
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English and international clients are accepted.
What session formats are available?
Sessions can be conducted by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging.
How is cost handled for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist scheduling; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, completing a short matching questionnaire, and then scheduling sessions according to therapist availability.
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