Sharon (Shonnie) Brown

Sharon (Shonnie) Brown is a northern California native whose adult life has included adapting to other cultures, an experience that has informed her work as a psychotherapist. Personal transitions such as divorce and long-standing shyness helped shape her approach and encouraged an orientation toward accepting change as part of life.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Arts in counseling psychology from John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, California. She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California, a credential that reflects state licensure (CA LMFT 30787), and she brings 30 years of clinical experience to her work with individuals and couples.

Sharon has facilitated groups addressing separation and divorce, infidelity, co-parenting education, and social anxiety. Her particular interests include major life transitions, separation and divorce, infidelity, couples and relationship counseling, recovering from broken friendships, self-esteem concerns, issues in young adulthood, employment-related difficulties, parenting, and aging-related matters. She is also a professional writer and frequently uses writing as a tool for emotional processing and healing.

Her therapeutic style is honest, direct, and heartfelt. She draws from a range of approaches - cognitive and solution-focused methods, family systems perspectives, and psychodynamic ideas - and has more recently integrated Pete Walker, MFT’s roadmap on childhood trauma and Complex PTSD into her practice.

Sharon often sees an inability to self-soothe and tolerate difficult emotions - such as hurt, anger, jealousy, guilt, or fear - as a central concern for the people she works with. A related focus is building self-compassion, self-protection, and self-love. To address these areas she uses goal setting, practical coping skills, mindfulness exercises, and writing practices when appropriate, all within the context of a strong therapeutic relationship.

She emphasizes daily practices of optimism and gratitude and guides clients to take change one step at a time. Those considering therapy are invited to reach out to begin the process of the change they want in their lives.