Shannon Oliver-O'Neil, LCSW… | Counseling | Therapy

Our Therapists

Shannon Oliver-O'Neil, LCSW (Therapist & Director of Intern Program)

Shannon Oliver O'Neil, MSW, LCSW Individual, Couples and Sex Therapist (She / Her / Hers)

267-428-2610

Office Locations:

Providence Therapy Office - Rhode Island

173 Waterman St.
Providence, RI 02906

Telehealth Locations:

Book a Rhode Island Appointment Book a Pennsylvania Appointment Book a New Jersey Appointment

Specialties:

  • Alternative Sexual Lifestyles
  • Anger
  • Body Dysmorphia
  • Chronic Illness
  • Chronic Pain
  • Depression
  • Discernment Counseling
  • Divorce / Break-Ups
  • Erectile Dysfunctions/Delayed Ejaculation
  • Gender Identity
  • Infidelity / Cheating
  • LGBTQIA
  • Low Self Esteem
  • Low Sex Desire
  • Mindfulness
  • Multiculturalism Issues
  • Orgasm Problems
  • Painful Sex/Vaginismus
  • Poly / Open Relationships
  • Sex, Love and/or Internet Addiction
  • Premarital Counseling
  • Race, Power & Oppression
  • Trauma
  • Couples Counseling
  • Sex Therapy

Shannon Oliver-O'Neil, LCSW (Therapist & Director of Intern Program)

Shannon Oliver-O’Neil, MSW, LCSW, AASECT Certified Sex Therapist in Providence RI, and works virtually in PA and NJ

Specializes in: Sex therapy, trauma therapy, individual therapy, pre-marital counseling, and couples counseling as well as phone therapy.


Shannon (she/her) is a therapist and the Director of the Internship Program at the Center for Growth. She supervises interns on a variety of cases including mood disorders, sex therapy, grief, anxiety and couples therapy. She enjoys helping interns to discover their clinical style and understand how their identities and lived experiences shape their therapeutic approach.

In her own clinical work, Shannon draws from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Narrative Therapy, and somatic and mindful practices. Shannon works with clients to set their own goals for treatment that are aligned with their values. She knows that for clients to grow, it’s important not only to feel safe taking risks in session, but also to ensure therapy is working towards the client’s vision for their health and future.

Shannon enjoys working with clients at the intersection of mind and body. As an AASECT-Certified Sex Therapist, she works with clients on sexual function issues. Shannon is a sex therapist because she knows everyone deserves a loving relationship with their own body, and access to safe, consensual and pleasurable sex.

Prior to her career in therapy, she worked as a sexual health educator and artist in the Chicago-land area. You can see her book on arts-based sexual health curriculum here: The Sex Ed Playbook. She received her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Michigan, and her Bachelor’s Degree from Northwestern University.

Shannon is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist. Currently Shannon offers inperson therapy sessions at the Providence Rhode Island Office and telephone sessions for clients living in PA and NJ.

Shannon sees clients in all of the following clinical areas:



In particular, she specializes in:

Learn more about her approach to these specializations below:

Treating Anorgasmia at the Center for Growth / Therapy in Providence RI

Anorgasmia is the inability to experience orgasm. Whether you’re experiencing difficulty with orgasm for the first time, or this is something you’ve struggled with throughout your life, Shannon will work with you to improve your connection to your body and sexual self. Through a combination of talk therapy and take-home exercises, you’ll learn how to attune to your body, and explore root causes of disconnection in order to experience sexual pleasure.

Treating Dysphoria During Sex at the Center for Growth/ Therapy in Providence RI

Dysphoria, or extreme dissatisfaction with one’s body, can impact lots of different areas of your life, including sex. Dysphoria can happen during sex for lots of different reasons, but the results are often debilitating. Whether you struggle to connect with your body due to sexual trauma, fatphobia, or your relationship to gender, dysphoria can create feelings of numbness, dissociation and panic during sex. In individual sex therapy, Shannon will work with you through a trauma-informed lens to help you make peace with your body, and feel safe in it during sex and other areas of your life.

Treating Erectile Dysfunction at the Center for Growth / Therapy in Providence RI

Individual sex therapy can be an effective treatment for erectile dysfunction. Here, you’ll explore common conditions for both difficult and “easy” erections. Often we find that clients who struggle with consistent erections also struggle with being present and tuned into their bodies during sexual encounters. In individual sex therapy, you’ll work with Shannon to develop mindfulness skills that allow you to stay present for longer, as well as somatic skills that allow you to tune into your body.

Treating Low Desire at The Center for Growth at the Center for Growth / Therapy in Providence RI

While low desire in and of itself is not a problem, it can be painful if you want to want sex, or are with a partner who wants to have sex more often. Whether low desire is something you’ve felt your entire life, or something newer, Shannon will work with you to explore your motivations for changing your relationship to desire. In individual sex therapy, you’ll use a combination of talk therapy and take-home exercises to develop skills to connect with your sexual self in a meaningful way.

Treating Painful Sex/Penetration at the Center for Growth / Therapy in Providence RI

Painful vaginal penetration can occur for a variety of reasons both physiological and emotional. Whether you are experiencing painful penetration for the first time, or as a lifelong struggle, Shannon will support you in finding ways to connect to pleasure in a meaningful way. In many cases, you may find that you are even able to enjoy penetrative sex after completing individual sex therapy!

Treating Premature Ejaculation at the Center for Growth / Therapy in Providence RI

Individual sex therapy can be an effective treatment for premature ejaculation. Premature ejaculation can feel like losing control of your body, and your sexual experience. In individual sex therapy, Shannon will help you to understand the emotional and sensation patterns you are experiencing. Through mindfulness and somatic exercises as well as talk therapy, she’ll help you to slow down, and reconnect to your body and to your sexual partner(s).

Trauma Therapy at the Center for Growth / Therapy in Providence RI

Traumatic experiences can impact how we see the world and ourselves, making it difficult to trust either. Whether clients have experienced “Big T” stand-alone traumatic events, or “little t” chronic trauma exposure over a prolonged period of time, it’s important to take space and time to rebuild feelings of safety, agency and hope.

Trauma can often cause us to disconnect from the body in order to lessen the impact of what we’re experiencing. While this strategy may keep us safe in the moment, it can make it difficult to thrive in the long run. Shannon works with clients to create safety by reconnecting the body and mind through mindfulness practice and somatic exercises. She understands that meditation is often difficult for people experiencing intrusive thoughts or “flashback” symptoms, and creates a safe scaffold for people to re-enter their bodies slowly over time.

Shannon blends narrative therapy and ACT modalities to help clients process traumatic experiences and free them from harmful and ingrained coping strategies such as: avoidance, black and white thinking, hypervigilance, hopelessness, anger, impulsivity, etc.

Individual Sex Therapy at the Center for Growth / Providence RI

Sex can be an important part of how we relate to ourselves and others. It’s also a large part of our culture, so when we aren’t able to engage in sex the way that we want to, it can feel like a failure on more than just a personal scale, even if that is not actually the case. Similar to our relationship with food, it sits at the intersection of mind and body. The ability to fully enjoy sex relies on being able to be present and attuned to our body while also being able to accept and understand our emotions: a block with one will lead to a block with the other.

Often the emotional patterns that help or harm us in other areas of our life (difficulty with vulnerability, willingness to take risks, etc) are present in our sexual selves. If you are experiencing difficulty with sex, it’s likely that there’s an underlying issue present in other areas of your life too. In your initial sex therapy intake, Shannon will ask questions in order to assess not just your current sexual issues, but their emotional impact, and any connections you can make to similar patterns in work, relationships, family, eating and more.

In individual sex therapy, clients get an opportunity to explore themselves within the realm of sexuality. Shannon works with individuals to deepen their connection to their sexual selves, increase their ability to attune to physical sensations and emotions. This is accomplished using a blend of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Narrative Therapy and somatic or mindfulness frameworks.

Common sexual issues addressed in individual sex therapy can be: anorgasmia/difficulty with orgasm, dysphoria during sex, erectile dysfunction, low desire, painful sex/penetration and premature ejaculation.



Next Steps

If you’d like to set up an appointment inperson at the Providence RI Office with Shannon, you can call her at 267-428-2610, or self schedule online. Currently all sessions are provided via phone. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about our internship program, or questions about therapy, sex therapy, supervision or what it’s like to work with Shannon!


Shannon Oliver-O'Neil, LCSW (Therapist & Director of Intern Program)'s Resume

NPI: 1750789228

Licensure:

  • Rhode Island: ISW03822
  • Pennsylvania: CW020155
  • New Jersey: 44sc05987000

Shannon Oliver-O'Neil, LCSW (Therapist & Director of Intern Program)’s Latest TIPs:

Manage Money Anxiety: The Financial Snapshot
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Do you avoid checking your bank account or credit card balances? Does thinking about your finances make you feel anxious or guilty? If so, you are not alone. Money is …

Managing Anxiety During Self-Isolation
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As we move into Philadelphia’s 2nd week of self-isolation, it’s normal to feel anxious. Information about COVD-19 is continually updating, normal routines have been shifted, and in-person social support systems …

(Not) Kissing Game
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(Not) Kissing Game: Sex Therapy in Philadelphia, Ocean City, Mechanicsville, Santa Fe

Often when couples discuss sexual desire, they imagine it as a concrete, independent force that they have no …

7 Day Intimacy Challenge
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Intimacy is the building block of emotional health. Without it, meaningful relationships are hard to create, let alone maintain. Despite its importance, many people struggle with building intimacy across their …

Slowing Down Eating Binges
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For many people, sitting with an uncomfortable feeling such as anxiety, shame, sadness or anger can be intolerable. Behaviors like drinking, exercising, watching netflix and binge eating are all things …

Couples: Talking About Money
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Couples: Talking about money can be really hard - it’s a subject that’s as taboo (if not more) than sex. Everyone is raised with different attitudes towards money, and they …

End Binge Eating with the Hunger Scale
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Many people who struggle with binge eating have successfully disconnected from their bodies and their ability to sense hunger. This is because binges are triggered by uncomfortable emotions such as …

Couples’ Formula for Successful Requests
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One of the most common communication issues I see in my couples’ sessions are difficulty with successful requests, or self-sabotaging requests. What do I mean by this? Often when we …

Bring Your Own Porn
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Porn can be a wonderful tool to learn more about your own desires and your partner’s turn-ons. It can provide a way to share new ideas from a distance - …

Decoding your Feelings
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Being hit by a big emotion, whether it’s anger, sadness or fear can leave us feeling overwhelmed. Most people don’t like to sit in uncomfortable feelings, and we often make …

Negative Self-Talk is not Accountability
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For many people, their biggest critic is themselves. In an attempt to learn from their mistakes, many people fall into the trap of confusing negative self-talk with accountability. They …

Being Mindful During Sex: Find-the-Smell Activity
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Many women and men struggle with being mindful during partnered sex. Difficulty staying engaged, or mindfulness, during sex can make sex less enjoyable, or even cause avoidance of sexual encounters …

Anxiety and Control Chart Exercise
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For many people, anxiety is triggered by attempting to control things that you actually have no control over. You feel stressed about the possibility that something might go wrong, and …

Talking to your partner about Erectile Dysfunction
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Not everyone who has Erectile Dysfunction needs to have an in depth conversation with their partner about it. Maybe your partner is new, and ED is just part of the …

InPerson Therapy & Virtual Counseling: Child, Teens, Adults, Couples, Family Therapy and Support Groups. Anxiety, OCD, Panic Attack Therapy, Depression Therapy, FND Therapy, Grief Therapy, Neurodiversity Counseling, Sex Therapy, Trauma Therapy: Therapy in Providence RI, Philadelphia PA, Ocean City NJ, Santa Fe NM, Mechanicsville VA