Shirley Kailas(She/Her/Hers)

Shirley Kailas is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who works online with adults, adolescents, and families as they navigate life’s complex challenges. Many of them grapple with anxiety, depression, trauma, or even existential searches for meaning in their lives. Others are experiencing an eating disorder, addiction, or are diagnosed bipolar. Shirley has extensive experience treating psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia, and is deeply committed to her work with young adults experiencing the onset of acute psychiatric symptoms.

Shirley’s therapeutic approach is predominantly informed by her training in psychodynamic psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, which means that she focuses on past relationships and experiences that have shaped her clients, while also working to transform ways of thinking and behaving that get in the way of her clients’ goals.

Shirley is known for her warm, approachable, authentic style of practice, as well as her sense of humor. Leading with an open heart, Shirley strives to create a trusting therapeutic relationship of unconditional acceptance that will form the foundation for healing and growth.

In her positions as a clinician in inpatient psychiatry at Bellevue Hospital Center treating the broad spectrum of mental-health issues and as a therapist at a residential addiction treatment center, Shirley gained a deep understanding of the human condition. A born and raised New Yorker, she has an appreciation for the unique culture of the city that so many of her clients call home. Shirley is deeply committed to her work and would be delighted to meet you!