Get To Know

Danielle Sheppard, LPCC

Pronouns (she/her)

Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor
Certified Grief Educator

“As a human species, we need to stop comparing grief. There’s no hierarchy.“

Danielle Sheppard is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and Certified Grief Educator. She identifies as a cis-gender woman of Jewish heritage and a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Specializing in work with Autistic adults identified later in life, she provides neuroaffirming therapy at Open Doors Therapy.

Danielle creates a compassionate, inclusive space for clients to explore grief, identity and self-connection through an affirming, IFS-based lens. She supports Autistic and neurodivergent individuals with an approach that fosters authenticity, self-understanding, and gentle processing towards growth.

Through her extensive work with adults who discovered their neurodivergence later in life, she identified a consistent grieving process. To describe this experience, Danielle coined the term “neurogrief.” She recognizes that neurogrief is often overlooked or misunderstood, which can negatively impact a client’s mental health and self-acceptance. As an educator and clinical consultant, Danielle is committed to helping professionals understand this concept to better support individuals diagnosed later in life.

As a clinician, Danielle is committed to working with neurodivergent clients and their families. With over 17 years of experience, Danielle has been empowering individuals to take control of their lives. She helps them become more present and mindful, both in their personal lives and in their relationships with others. By teaching self-observation and awareness of how their actions are perceived, Danielle enables people to improve their interactions and overall well-being.

Danielle excels in strengths-based and solution-focused approaches, mindfulness, and narrative therapy. She employs a person-centered method to address the unique needs of each individual or family. Danielle understands that each person or couple has unique goals, aspirations, and paths to happiness. She recognizes that everyone’s journey to peace of mind is distinct. Therefore, she is dedicated to helping her clients discover their strengths, values, and ultimate potential. Danielle takes great joy in helping individuals recognize and express the strengths they often overlook in themselves, and she considers it an honor to witness their journeys.

Danielle treats each client or couple as a unique story to discover and learn from together. She adopts a holistic approach to therapy, often encouraging the integration of meditation and mindfulness into their sessions. Danielle’s clients frequently praise her natural intuition, her down-to-earth and non-judgmental demeanor, and her remarkable balance of warmth, kindness, and transformative insights.

She has a master’s degree in Clinical Counseling from San Francisco State University with a specialization in career counseling and rehabilitation. She is also a Certified Employment Support Professional (CESP) and a certified Job and Career Transition and Development Coach (JCTC/JCDC).