Coaching, ​​Counseling and Consulting

Gordon Shippey, MA, LPC

Just because you're smart doesn't mean your life is problem-free. I help bright, technical or "geeky" guys overcome their anxiety and succeed in dating, at work, and with friends.

In my own life, I've struggled with these issues in the past. I consider myself geeky and that mindset, while full of advantages in technology and industry, can cause problems in other areas of our lives..

A few guiding principles define how I work with my clients:

• We often feel alone...and yes, we are often alone. Yet we can get good at being alone while still striving for more connection..
• As geeks, we are creators and builders. What we don't always notice is that we also construct the meaning of our social experiences.
• Socialization is a problem that can be solved and geeks are phenomenal at problem-solving.
• When we can't solve a problem with our usual methods, we're driven to find a new way and become stronger or smarter as a result.
• I will not B.S. you with positive thinking. Let's look at the situation with a cool, critical eye. Let's see things as they are: not better or worse.
• A solution that works and makes sense beats vague ideas that sound good..

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Free Initial Consultation

From the Blog

Having Fun and Making Friends at the Same Time
​One of the stickiest problems I hear from my clients is the difficulty making friends as an adult. A 2018 study reported that one in three men did not have even one close friend. It's easy to drill down into reasons why friendships are scarce: work is all-consuming, people move around a lot, and social media keeps us glued to our phones. I'm not saying any of these are false, but I'd like to move the focus away from the obstacles and towards one important solution.​

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Don't "Study"
Scoring well on quizzes and exams is one of the biggest anxieties my college-age clients face. Students know they're supposed to study, but sometimes, even after putting their head in the books for hour after hour, grades remain low. The truth is that studying as we commonly understand it is a poor way to prepare for exams. 

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You Notice an Attractive Woman Across the Room; Here's What Happens Next:
Of all the social challenges we face as males, approaching available women has to be one of the most confusing. It's completely understandable that guys want to know the answer to "what do I say to her?"

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Do Smartphones Make us Dumb People?
Now that we depend on our smartphones to hold our address books, we no longer need to physically punch out phone numbers to call someone. Are we less able to remember anything now that our phones are remembering almost everything? 

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Phone-Life Balance: Using Mindfulness to Reconnect with Your Real Self and Your Real Life
In this guest post, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Amanda Bowers Carver pinpoints where many of us go wrong with our phones and shares some no-nonsense steps to get off the phone and back into life.

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Seven Smart Strategies for Less Stress and More Success
"In a world where the professional and personal demands of our lives often collide and compete, we long for more balance."

I had a chance to talk with Tricia Molloy, a speaker, mentor and author about the challenges of balancing work and life. Here's what she had to say.