Who I Am as a Therapist

Warm, grounded care for life’s most difficult moments.

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Meet Shirley Shani Ben Zvi, PhD., LMFT, CT®, GTC® (she/her)

We've never met, yet I already know two things about you.

One: you're the expert on your own life. Nobody knows better than you what works and what doesn't. Two: you're the hero of your own story. You don't need me to save you. But every hero needs a sidekick at some point, and I'd be honored to be yours.

Most people expect therapy to be about what's hurting and where it started. When we work together, I'll ask you something different: what's your best hope? Think of it like getting in a cab. The driver doesn't ask where you don't want to end up. They ask for the destination. That's what I want to know. If you want to tell me about what's hurting, I will listen, I will validate, and I do care. Just know that the center of our work is you and who you wish to be, not your problem. Once we know where we're headed, we'll figure out what's working right now and use it to build the future you want.

The Clinical Side

I hold a Doctorate in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) from National University and a Master's in MFT from Northcentral University, with a specialty in Medical Family Therapy. I'm a Certified Thanatologist (CT®) [the clinical term for grief therapist, educator, and consultant] and a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). I'm also a certified Geek Therapist, which means that yes, we can absolutely do therapy through the lens of your favorite story.

My specialties are grief therapy (death loss, perinatal loss, and non-death losses that don't get named), suicide loss, and supporting families with a loved one who is struggling to stay alive. I work with individuals, couples, and families across Georgia, with in-person sessions in Roswell and online therapy available statewide.

The Personal Side

I'm a Jewish-Israeli woman with American citizenship, a feminist, and a proud LGBTQIA+ ally. I'm married to a wonderful man, and we are the parents of amazing twin teen girls and one therapy dog. When I'm not in session, you'll find me playing or listening to music, reading, watching TV (yes, I have a thing for superheroes, you probably caught that already), walking with my dog in nature, or enjoying good food with good company.

Why I List My Pronouns

When someone uses the correct pronouns for you, it's a sign that you are seen and respected for who you are, not who someone assumed you to be. People often assume they know someone's gender identity from their appearance or even just their name. For most people, that assumption happens to be correct. But for those it isn't, the cost of being misgendered is constant: correcting people, disclosing personal details they didn't choose to share, and navigating the social scrutiny that follows.

As a cisgender woman, most people get my pronouns right without me saying a word. That's a privilege. Listing my pronouns is one small way of using that privilege intentionally. It sends a clear message: everyone deserves this level of respect, regardless of whether their gender identity is easy to recognize. The more people who don't need to specify their pronouns choose to do it anyway, the less of a statement it becomes, and the more it simply becomes the norm. That's the world I want to contribute to, one mention of my pronouns at a time.