LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER
Aaron Shown
TRAUMA-INFORMED THERAPIST FOR ADHD, EMOTIONAL REGULATION, AND IDENTITY
IN RHODE ISLAND, PENNSYLVANIA, AND NEW JERSEY
Pronouns: He/They
Licensure: LCSW
Location: Rhode Island,
Pennysylvania & New Jersey
Languages: English
Accepting New Clients: Yes
Sliding Scale: Yes
Insurance: Aetna, BCBS, Cigna, and Evernorth
About Aaron
Hi, I'm Aaron ~ I'm really glad you're here!
Maybe you're someone who's always holding space for others but rarely receives that same care in return. Or perhaps you're navigating uncertainty, trying to make sense of who you are or who you're becoming. Whatever brings you here, you deserve a place where you can exhale, be fully yourself, and do the meaningful work of healing.
I'm a queer therapist and social worker who believes in showing up as a real human first. I take a collaborative, tailored approach, partnering with you to build our work together rather than telling you what to do. I'm genuinely on your team.
I offer holistic, affirming care for LGBTQIA+ folks and anyone seeking a supportive space to navigate life's challenges, with experience in religious trauma, grief, loss, chronic illness, and major life transitions. I also support clients working through anxiety, depression, trauma, self-esteem challenges, and more.
I bring experience from crisis counseling with LGBTQIA+ and HIV-affected survivors of violence, as well as work in oncology, palliative care, and suicide prevention. My practice is grounded in a social justice framework, with a deep commitment to anti-racism and ongoing learning and unlearning through supervision, consultation, training, and my own therapy. Yes, therapists go to therapy too!
Using an eclectic approach informed by relational, trauma-informed, and strengths-based practices, we'll explore your lived experiences, honor your inherent strengths, and build practical ways to show up for yourself with more confidence and compassion.
Outside of sessions, I enjoy spending time with my family, including two dogs and two cats, fostering pups through the local shelter, experiencing art and theater, or hunting down Philly's best food spots.
I'm currently under clinical supervision and offer virtual sessions for clients in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
Finding the right therapist matters. Fit is important. If this resonates with you, I'd love to connect and see if I can help support you in your journey, no matter where you are.
Specialties
ADHD & Neurodivergent Support
Burnout & Life Transitions
Chronic Illness & Medical Trauma
Gender Identity & LGBTQ+ Care
Trauma & Emotional Regulation
Poverty
Political and Climate Stress
Religious Trauma
Socioeconomic Stress
Areas of Focus
Abolitionism
Autistic Person
Opposing ABA
BDSM/ Kink/ Poly-Positive
Black Liberation
Decolonization/Decoloniality
Disability Justice
Ecological, Climate & Animal Justice
Fat Liberation
Free Gender-Affirming Care Letter Provider for Transgender People (fully pro-bono process)
Gender-Affirming Care Access Advocate (TGNB)
Gender-Affirming Care Knowledgeable (TGNB)
HIV Ally
Immigrant Rights/ Immigration Justice, Indigenous Healing Practices Land Back
Indigenous Sovereignty Migrants/ Immigrants/ Refugees,
Military, Veterans
Neurodivergence Justice
Peer Support
Racial
Sex Positive, Sex Worker Ally
Spiritual Healing Practices
Spiritual/ Religious Trauma & Healing
Therapist or Coach for Healthcare Workers, Educators,
Therapy Animal Assistance
Transgender Justice
Modalities
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Integrated Attachment Theory
Autistic-Affirming or Centered Therapy
Breathwork
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTI)
Compassion Focused
Culturally Responsive/Affirming
Eclectic Therapy
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
Humanistic, Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Mindfulness Based Therapy (including MBCT)
Mindfulness or Meditation
Motivational Interviewing
Narrative Therapy
Neurodivergent-Affirming Therapy
Parts Work
Person-Centered Therapy
Psychoanalytic
Psychodynamic Therapy
Solution Focused Brief (SFBT)
Somatic Therapy
Strength-Based
Trauma Informed Therapy
Lived Identity
and Experience
Person with Disability
Gender Non-Conforming
Queer
Expansive
Fat Person
Highly Sensitive Person
LGBQ+ Sexuality
Neurodivergent Person
White/European Diaspora
Why I Do This Work
“I do this work because many people who come to therapy have spent years feeling misunderstood by systems, institutions, or even the communities that shaped them. Therapy should be a place where you are not asked to shrink or translate yourself. It should be a space where your experiences make sense, your strengths are recognized, and your life can begin to move in a direction that feels more true to you.”
- Aaron Shown 
My Approach in Practice
For me, therapy starts with slowing down and paying attention to what your mind and body have been carrying for a long time. Stress, trauma, faith experiences, illness, identity, and the systems we’ve lived inside all leave their mark. Many of the patterns people struggle with today once helped them survive.
I work with many clients navigating ADHD, neurodivergence, religious trauma, chronic illness, identity questions, and emotional overwhelm. Often people come in feeling tired from holding everything together for everyone else.
In therapy we take time to understand what shaped those patterns while also building practical ways to care for yourself differently. That might mean learning tools for emotional regulation, working through grief or trauma, or letting go of beliefs that no longer serve you.
I draw from approaches like CBT, mindfulness, relational work, and strengths-based therapy, but the process is always collaborative. You know your life better than anyone. My role is to help you make sense of your experiences and support you in moving forward in a way that feels more steady and true to yourself.
What Clients Often Come to Me For
People often reach out when they are:
Feeling overwhelmed by anxiety, burnout, or emotional swings
Wanting practical ways to feel more steady day to day.
Living with ADHD, neurodivergence, or high sensitivity
Trying to better understand how their mind works without feeling “broken.”
Processing religious trauma, faith deconstruction, or the complicated relationship
Between spirituality, identity, and belonging.
Navigating major
life shifts
Such as chronic illness, grief, aging, career changes, or relationship transitions.
Exploring gender identity, sexuality, or questions about self-worth
They question where they fit in this world.
Carrying trauma from past experiences
Wanting support that is compassionate, grounded, and respectful of their story.
Looking for a therapist who sees the full picture of their life
including identity, culture, and the systems that shape their experiences.
In our work together we focus on helping you understand your patterns, reconnect with your strengths, and build ways of moving through life that feel more sustainable and more like your true self.
