Shelbie Spear, PhD
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST
She/Her
Locations: Eastwood, Online
Specialities:
Anxiety + OCD
Specific Phobias
Selective Mutism
Separation Anxiety
Behavioral Challenges
Parent Training
Disordered Sleep
School Refusal
Psychological Assessment
Works With: Kids, Pre-Teens, Teens, Adults
Email: shelbie@rootedcounselingmi.com
Hey there,
I became a psychologist because I believe providing warm, authentic, and evidence- based services can change children and adolescents’ lives.
I believe that children and adolescents are shaped by the contexts they develop in, which is why I seek to provide services that are responsive to individuals’ past and present environments and experiences. I bring an authentic, playful, and reflective approach to my work. Through this, I offer a safe and supportive space for children and adolescents to grow in their understanding of the relationships between environments, thoughts, feelings, and actions. I work collaboratively with parents and schools, as needed, to better support my clients.
I specialize in treating anxiety-based disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in children and adolescents. I am passionate about providing exposure and response prevention based treatments for OCD, specific phobias, separation anxiety, and selective mutism. In addition to these areas, I provide direct caregiver services to support caregivers whose children experience inattention, hyperactivity, general behavioral challenges, sleep difficulty, or anxiety.
In my practice, I utilize evidence-based therapy models and am rooted in a culturally responsive approach. I engage in cognitive behavioral therapy, including exposure and response prevention. Although I utilize play as appropriate in my work (e.g., within exposure for selective mutism, in building rapport), I do not provide play therapy. With regard to caregiver work, I engage in both general positive behavioral strategies and the SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) program. I provide school consultation as appropriate. Finally, I provide comprehensive psychoeducational evaluations related to symptoms of ADHD, specific learning disorders, and mood. I also conduct selective mutism evaluations.
In addition to my clinical work, I provide program evaluation and program development services to nonprofit, refugee-serving organizations.
Outside of Rooted and my work with nonprofits, you will frequently find me curled up with a good book, taking my dog for a walk with my husband, or completing a project for our house. I find community in book clubs, workout classes, and long chats over a coffee with good friends. I also enjoy travel, including trips to India to spend time with my husband’s family.
Education: I received my doctorate (PhD) in school psychology from Michigan State University. I completed both my pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship at Thriving Minds Behavioral Health.
