Genna Shafer has dedicated her career to supporting individuals who have experienced trauma, abuse, and difficult life transitions. She began her work as an intern at the Children’s Aid Society, where she spent two years helping foster youth find permanent homes and supporting them as they transitioned out of the system. From there, she worked as a school-based therapist for five years before moving into telehealth, where she now continues to provide compassionate care.

Genna has worked with a wide range of communities, including low-income rural populations, inner-city Cleveland, LGBTQ+ individuals, neurodivergent youth, and survivors of sexual assault and trafficking. Her therapeutic approach is both person-centered and trauma-focused, emphasizing the importance of safety, trust, and healthy boundaries. While she is trained in EMDR, CBT, solution-focused, psychodynamic, and person-centered modalities, she believes a strong therapeutic relationship is the foundation of meaningful progress.

Specializing in trauma, abuse recovery, LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent support, and religious trauma, Genna sees therapy as a space where no one has to suffer alone. She often reminds clients that “sometimes all it takes is just one person who truly cares to change the course of a life.”

Genna earned both her bachelor’s (2019) and master’s (2021) degrees from Youngstown State University. Outside of her counseling work, she enjoys cooking, reading, listening to true crime podcasts, going to concerts, and spending time with her partner, younger brother, and beloved cats who often make guest appearances during video sessions. She also spent nine years wrestling, has coached her younger brother, and is known for making a mean homemade soup.

“In therapy, I believe we learn as much from our clients as they learn from us. For me, this work is not just a job, it’s a passion to break cycles and help people in ways many of us never had growing up.”