About

Hi - I'm Dr. Bill Shearer and I am a couples counselor. My wife Robin and I are both therapists and we see clients with a variety of issues in individual, family, and couples therapy. Our focus is on anxiety disorders, relationship issues, addictions and compulsions, and eating disorders. My primary focus is working with couples and relationship issues. Robin and I are the authors of Mindful Choices for Well-Being, and our approach although largely cognitive behavioral combines a number of modalities. We are also editing the manuscript for our next book Being the Right Partner, Mindful Choices for Couples. Our work is based upon nearly forty years of clinical and personal experience and represents an integration of diverse approaches. While we have included applications from theoretical approaches, such as object relations, social learning theory, cognitive behavioral strategies, interpersonal or systems theory, and systems thinking, there is a primary emphasis on the following four pillars: 1. Mindfulness, contemplative practices, Buddhist psychology, Stoicism. 2. Mindfulness and acceptance-based behavioral therapies, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). A significant part of our work is inspired by ACT. We also draw heavily upon Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT), utilizing the earlier form Rational Emotive Therapy (RET). We include Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and Schema Therapy (ST). 3. Positive psychology and the science of happiness and wellbeing. 4. Neuroscience and brain-based change strategies, psychobiology, mind-body medicine, and cognitive neuroscience. Being the Right Partner, Mindful Choices for Couples will be released in the spring of 2021.