Whether it’s divorce, separation, remarriage, adoption, or other transition, every family deserves support, and every family can mend.
What are mended families?
Every family faces challenges, and mended families have reached the other side of the struggle, feeling closer, stronger, and more connected.
Why does it matter?
Our families drive us, motivate us, and give our lives meaning. When our family is struggling, we are struggling. Mended families mean more hope, love, and growth in our lives.
How we can help you.
You’re ready for your family to get back on track, or to start your new family on the right foot. We can help you connect, heal, and mend yourself and your relationships with compassion and intention.
Meet Shauna
I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and I started Mended Families to help adults and children navigate difficult family and life transitions. I specialize in working with individuals, couples, and families navigating separation, divorce, and remarriage or repartnering. As someone who grew up in a blended and multicultural family, and who now has her own blended family, I am passionate about providing support for all types of families, and understand first-hand how difficult and rewarding nontraditional families can be.
I offer a newly developed type of therapy for these unique families called Pre-blending Family Therapy. This specialized therapy includes a mixture of individual, couples, and family sessions to help those who plan to merge their families prepare for the common challenges blended families face and to enhance their success as a cohesive family unit.
Also passionate about working with children through their language of play, I am experienced in directional and nondirectional play therapy, and work with children ages 4 and up.
As a therapist working toward cultural humility, I use a mindfulness-based and attachment-based approaches and have an open, nonjudgmental stance when working with clients. I am a proud LGBTQIA+ ally and welcome working with people from diverse backgrounds. I am dedicated to anti-racism and identify as an intersectional feminist and believe it is important to understand and challenge our biases so we can create a more just self, family, and society.
Throughout my career, I have worked with individuals, couples, and families impacted by anxiety, depression, bipolar I and II, trauma- and stressor-related disorders, ADHD/ADD, abuse and sexual violence, grief and loss, pregnancy and postpartum issues, infertility, intimate partner violence, anger issues, transition to parenthood, and more.
I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT #4245). I received a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in 2017 and Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Women’s Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1999. I am certified in Psychological First Aid and PREPARE/ENRICH as a facilitator for premarital counseling and am trained in Level 1 Brainspotting for trauma processing, Emotionally Focused Therapy and Relational Life Therapy for couples work, and Discernment Counseling for couples on the brink of divorce. I also have had special training in yoga for anxiety and depression, meditation, parenting interventions, family mediation, and play therapy.
I have been a member of the Minnesota Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (MAMFT) since 2016 and member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) – both the national and regional chapters – since 2019.
