Addressing your mental health is an act of strength!
Now accepting new clients!
I offer trauma-informed and neurodivergent-affirming mental health services designed to help you thrive. Discover personalized therapy options, and take the first step toward a brighter tomorrow.
Offering A Safe Environment For Healing
I create a compassionate and safe haven where you can embark on your healing journey. My approach fosters an environment of acceptance and understanding, empowering you to confront your challenges.
Individual Counseling
Explore your values, goals, and challenges; get to know yourself; and develop coping skills to build a life more authentic to who you are and what you want.
Group Counseling
Coming soon! Combine the benefits from individual counseling with those of peer support, forming community and learning from each other!
Services
There are many types (‘modalities’) of therapy, and I believe in working with each client to find the best approach for them. For some clients, it is best to stick to one modality, but often I find clients benefit from an eclectic approach, pulling techniques and philosophies from multiple modalities to create a personalized strategy.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Explore the link between your thoughts, emotions, and actions to challenge negative thought patterns, develop healthier coping skills, and improve your overall happiness and success.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
Improve your ability to regulate your emotions, bring yourself down from emotional crises, and form and maintain healthy personal and professional relationships.
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
Process traumatic events and challenge thoughts and beliefs regarding them to reduce their impact on your life. Go from "What's wrong with me?" to "What happened to me?"
NCE Tutoring
Personalized assistance studying for the NCE, offered both virtually (nationally) and in-person in Huntsville. I can help with memorization & study strategies, decoding questions that give you trouble, and test-taking skills.
My Philosophy and Approach
I could talk about this all day, but here’s the condensed version.
One size doesn't fit all.
I believe in working with each client to create the best approach for them, and I am flexible in changing said approach as their needs change.
I work for you, not the other way around.
I believe in client-driven care, meaning there are two experts in the room: I am an expert in psychology and counseling; you are an expert of yourself, what you are comfortable with, and what has worked and not worked for you in the past. We are a team. You are hiring me to help you, not to force my ideas and “quick fixes” onto you.
Presenting concerns should be addressed from multiple angles.
This applies multiple ways. First, I believe in using counseling modalities that target conscious, unconscious, and somatic elements of presenting concerns. Second, I believe there are multiple solutions to external problems–problems in your environment such as work stress or communication issues with your partner–and sometimes, multiple solutions can be used together.
About Me
Zachary Sheeley, MA, ALC
I am an associate licensed counselor (ALC) under the supervision of John Thoington, LPC-S. I am autistic, and my main focus area for counseling is adult autism. Other focuses are depression, trauma, and psychosis (if appropriate for standard outpatient treatment). These are not the only presenting concerns I am equipped to help with, just the ones I focus most of my training on and do best with.
I’m new to the field, but I am excited to begin seeing clients, am constantly studying new counseling methods and psychology/neurology concepts, and have some clinical experience in case management and my counseling internship.
At Wellstone, I worked as a case manager for 3 years with adolescents and young adults with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, primarily focused on helping them develop work skills, find and maintain employment, and earn their driver licenses.
During my internship, I completed over 600 hours of counseling work total (240 of which involved co- or individually counseling clients and leading client therapy groups) over 5 months at Restore Counseling Services in Madison, under the supervision of Tia Harden, LPC-S. My caseload primarily consisted of veterans with PTSD. Other common themes among clients included autism, depression, psychosis, bereavement, and relationship issues.
I look forward to working with you!
I moved to Huntsville to go to UAH to become a pharmaceutical scientist, but I stumbled upon my true passion after a poor experience venting to someone online.
I found a website where volunteers offer active listening services, so I joined to chat about my stress about moving to a new area to start the next chapter of my life, and it was horrendous.
I was discouraged until I remembered the adage, If you want something done right, do it yourself.
Inspired, I applied to become a volunteer on the site, completed the training, and started taking chats–and I loved it!
I spoke to people around the world about a variety of issues: anxiety, depression, relationship issues, OCD, eating disorders, psychosis, personality disorders, substance use, and more. I took hundreds of chats and applied for leadership positions, eventually becoming in charge of moderating the website and training other volunteers.
I was so inspired I changed my major to psychology and continued on to grad school for my master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. Along the way, I gained my first clinical experience as a case manager at Wellstone working with those with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders while expanding onto a second active listening website to host classes for its volunteers about psychosis.
I graduated from Southern New Hampshire University in the winter of 2025 and established Sheeley Counseling LLC, where I work as an associate licensed counselor under supervision of John Thorington, LPC-S.
As an autistic person, I understand many neurodivergent people have experienced feeling unheard and misunderstood in counseling, and admittedly, most major counseling theories and modalities (types of counseling) are not designed for us. Some focus areas of my research are interventions that work for us and expanding my understanding of different forms of neurodivergence. I would like to become the best resource I can possibly be to help autistic people thrive.
Frequently Asked Questions
I understand that seeking mental health support can raise many questions and uncertainties. To help address some common concerns, I’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions.
My main focus area is autism in adolescents and young adults (age 14 through 30), but I am open to working with older adults as appropriate. Secondary focuses are trauma, depression, and psychosis (at a level appropriate for standard outpatient treatment). I am open to people with other presenting concerns as well, but those are the areas where I devote most of my training time.
The duration of therapy can vary depending on your specific needs and goals. Some individuals may find relief after just a few sessions, while others may require ongoing support over a longer period. Frequency of sessions varies depending on clients' needs, but having a session every other week is the most common schedule. However, some prefer weekly sessions, and others prefer monthly.
Common benefits include improved quality of life, relationships, self-esteem, self-love, and work performance, as well as improved understanding of yourself and formation of your identity. It can also help you to let go of the past and devote your energy to the future, among other benefits.
Yes, these sessions are conducted through a secure video conferencing platform, allowing you to access our services from the comfort and privacy of your own space. While I believe in-person sessions are the most beneficial, online therapy is an excellent option for those with busy schedules or limited mobility. Some clients newer to counseling may also find it less daunting than an in-person session.
Your information is protected under the same HIPAA regulations physicians are held to, as counseling is a form of health care. This is an essential element of both Alabama's and the American Counseling Association's ethical codes for counselors.
For your convenience, I offer multiple scheduling options. You may select a date and time using my scheduling calendar, which automatically syncs with my calendar to show my availability, or text, email, or call me. You can find scheduling information here.
An emotional support animal (ESA) is a pet that helps ground clients and offers them companionship. These are not service animals and receive no special training, just regular cats, dogs, or other pets. The ESA designation simply means landlords must allow you to have said pets, even if they have a no pets policy, and they may not charge you any fees for doing so.
Absolutely! If we determine having one would be beneficial for your mental health, I will write you a note for your landlord so you will be able to adopt an ESA. Under federal law, any mental health professional may do this.
Still have a question?
If you have more inquiries, feel free to reach out via text, call, or email.
Start your healing journey today!
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