Shay Bankston, LISW

Shay Bankston is an Ohio licensed therapist with more than 20 years of experience supporting people through complex emotional challenges. She blends a person-centered, collaborative stance with evidence-based practices to help clients address depression, anxiety, trauma, and life transitions. Her work often focuses on social anxiety, isolation, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress, and she brings particular sensitivity to first responder concerns and issues affecting LGBTQ communities.

Shay emphasizes practical coping strategies and emotional resilience, guiding individuals as they explore personal growth and healing. Her approach is grounded in trauma-informed care and a commitment to honoring diverse identities and experiences. She aims to create an affirming space where people can build skills, clarify values, and reconnect with inner strengths.

Shay is a Licensed Independent Social Worker - LISW - which denotes advanced clinical social work licensure in Ohio. Through a combination of proven therapeutic methods and compassionate support, she helps clients navigate relationship challenges, grief, addiction concerns, parenting struggles, career transitions, and other life stresses with increased confidence and self-understanding.

Trauma-Informed and Person-Centered Online Care

Shay Bankston uses a person-centered approach that emphasizes collaboration, empathy, and the client’s own goals. This approach helps people who are navigating life transitions, depression, anxiety, or relationship and parenting challenges by focusing on strengths and what matters most to the individual.

She also integrates trauma-informed practices that acknowledge the impact of past harm and prioritize pacing, safety, and stabilization. This orientation is especially helpful for those coping with post-traumatic stress, first responder stress, panic, and histories of abuse.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the work. Shay collaborates with each person to identify which methods fit best based on their needs, goals, and preferences, adjusting techniques over time to support progress and comfort.

Online therapy with Shay is available through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, offering flexibility to fit varied schedules and life demands. These options make it easier to access consistent support from a licensed professional, whether someone is local to Ohio or located internationally, and can remove common barriers to beginning or maintaining care.