Dr. Shana Markle, Ph.D., HSPP

Hi! I am Dr. Shana Markle and I am an Indiana native and currently live in Westfield, IN with my husband, our son, and our family dog, Scooter. 

I earned my doctorate and master's degrees in Counseling Psychology from Ball State University with an emphasis on relationships and the impact of family during our formative years. I was trained through a multicultural lens to value diversity and to approach each individual from a developmental perspective. 

Early in my career, I provided services to adults with persistent and severe mental illness in a community mental health center. More recently, I worked with ambitious college students at a private university counseling center. Currently, I enjoy working with millennials and adults navigating a wide variety of life experiences.  

My unique clinical experiences cover the spectrum of mental health concerns. Whether longstanding anxiety, loss of a loved one, relationship tensions, or self doubt and uncertainty, you can be confident in my therapeutic expertise and I would be honored to work with you. 

On a personal note, my two favorite food groups are chocolate and Diet Coke. I love a sunny day on a warm beach and following my favorite baseball team, the NY Mets.     

I love getting to know people and look forward to meeting you!

As your therapist, you can expect a partnership where we are both active and engaged. 

Our conversation will begin with getting to know your history, identities, struggles and strengths. Therapy begins as you are able to trust and honestly share your thoughts and feelings to facilitate new insights and self-awareness. 

For some, this might include clarifying values, understanding relationship dynamics, or recognizing the impact past experiences may have on their current functioning. 

New insights provide a direction for needed changes and symptom reduction. At times you may need a genuine, accepting, listening ear and other times you may benefit from being challenged to help you gain new perspectives. Even though therapy can be uncomfortable at times, it is important to laugh and enjoy the growth process! I tailor my techniques and interventions to your individual needs across therapy and within each session.

I draw from a variety of empirically based theoretical orientations, but tend to conceptualize from an interpersonal, dynamic framework and practice from an integrated approach. 

My doctoral degree is in Counseling Psychology which emphasizes culturally-informed, strengths-based, talk therapy with a focus on developmental changes throughout the lifespan. A counseling psychologist is specifically trained to help others through the use of talk therapy, which differs from clinical psychologists whose training primarily emphasizes treating pathology. There are numerous theories and approaches of how talk therapy can be helpful. 

My approach is considered Humanistic and blends concepts from family systems, existential therapy, psychodynamic therapies, as well as ACT and solution-focused therapy. In essence, I learn about the context in which you were raised during your formative years and listen for implicit and explicit messages you internalized. I look for themes and patterns in how you relate to others and the world (which also includes strengths!). Through our conversations I identify congruence or incongruence with values you hold and also identify unmet needs that may be contributing to your presenting concern. The information is instrumental in clarifying, restoring, accepting, understanding, mourning, and ultimately allowing you to be the person you are meant to be!