Dr. David Steven Shapiro

Licensed Psychologist

My interest in becoming a Psychologist grew out of my study of Method Acting. In college I was initially interested in studying Theater Arts, and in particular I was interested in an approach to acting which has the actor do deep internal work to bring realism to their craft. I decided to take my first Psychology classes to help me better understand characters' motivations and conflicts. Then, as I learned more about the extent of suffering that many individuals experience, I felt a deep desire to help to eleviate some of that suffering. This led me to take more Psychology classes, and to seek out opportunities to help people. I ended up doing well in my Psychology classes and several of my Psychology Professors took me under their wings. I was given opportunities to serve as a Reader and then a Teaching Assistant for undergraduate classes in such topics as Developmental Psychology, Human Sexuality, Humanistic Psychology, etc. After graduating from college, I spent a year working with a 4 year old autistic boy doing behavioral therapy while also continuing to help teach undergraduate Psychology classes. Then, I went on for a Masters Degree in Developmental Psychology, which led into my gaining admission into the APA Accredited Counseling Psychology Traiining Program at the University of Texas at Austin.

The first session with me is a chance for us to clarify what my client wants to achieve, to also identify the various factors that contribute to the difficulties we will be helping to overcome, and to collaborate in coming up with a plan of action for how we will work together to achieve those goals. Almost always I start with a question of "In what ways is your life not the way you would like it to be?" This is a very rich question which can give rise to sharing of a lot of information. The client then has an opportunity to articulate ways they would like their life to be different, but also it can lead into sharing about factors that are holding them back. Then I will almost always enquire about the history of the challenges. How far back does this go? Were there times in their lives they experienced similar or other significant challenges. I also strive to learn about successes, strengths, interests, etc. Ultimately, by the end of the meeting I like to work with my clients to clarify how they would like me to assist them in moving forward. We talk about what types of therapy they would ideally like, things that have and have not worked in the past, and clarify some goals they would like to achieve. There is also room for the clients to ask questions about me, how I work, etc. Ultimately, by the end of the first meeting we usually have a good understanding of generally what the client would like to address, generally how we will attempt to support the changes they would like, and quite often I will share with the client one or more strategies or resources they can make use of before the next session. Obviously, each case is different, but in general terms that is a rough outline of what commonly happens in a first session with me.

I take a client-centered strategic approach to therapy which aims at helping my clients bring their reality in line with how they would ideally like their life to be. To do this, I work with each individual, couple, or family to clarify how the client would like things to be, and then we collaborate on identifying goals and strategies for achieving what they truly want. Sometimes this involves helping my cllients to overcome self defeating patterns of behavior, or ineffective communication. Other times, it may involve helping clients to learn to better regulate emotions. Very often, clients identify resources they can make use of in their own lives to empower or support them in the changes they are making. In this way, I don't rely upon a cookie cutter, one size fits all, approach. Rather, I strive to help each client or system with whom I work to form and then manifest their own unique success plan using a variety of skills and techniques that I have been able to evolve over years of study and clinical practice.