If you are in crisis, do not use this website. Nothing here is monitored in real time. Messages sent through the contact form may not be read for a day or more.
Call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or call 911, or go to your nearest emergency room.
1 · This website is information, not therapy
Everything on this site — the pages about anxiety, grief, trauma, relationships and the rest — is general information written to help you decide whether to reach out. It is not clinical advice, not a diagnosis, and not a substitute for care from a qualified professional who knows your situation.
Reading about a difficulty is not the same as being assessed for one. If something here resonates, that is a reason to talk to someone, not a conclusion about yourself.
2 · No therapist–client relationship
Using this website, sending the contact form, or booking a free consultation does not create a therapist–client relationship. That relationship begins only after an intake appointment, the necessary consent and disclosure documents are completed, and we have both agreed to work together.
Until that point, please do not send detailed clinical information through this site.
3 · Not for emergencies
This site is not monitored continuously and cannot be used to summon help.
If you need immediate support
- 988 — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text, 24/7)
- 911 — emergency services
- Your nearest hospital emergency department
4 · Where I can practise
I am a Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist registered in California, working under licensed supervision. I can only provide therapy to people who are physically located in California at the time of a session. If you are elsewhere, I am glad to help you think about how to find someone local, but I cannot be your therapist.
5 · Consultations and booking
The booking tool offers a free introductory consultation. A booked time is a request until it is confirmed; times can occasionally become unavailable between selection and confirmation. Please cancel or reschedule as early as you can if plans change — a released slot usually goes to someone waiting.
The consultation is a conversation about fit. It is not a therapy session, and no assessment or treatment takes place during it.
6 · Accuracy
I keep this site as accurate as I can, but content may become out of date, and availability, fees and insurance participation change. Nothing here is a guarantee of a particular outcome from therapy — no honest clinician can offer one.
7 · Links to other sites
Where I link elsewhere it is because I think the resource is useful. I do not control those sites and am not responsible for their content, accuracy or privacy practices.
8 · Content and copyright
The writing and design on this site are mine. You are welcome to read it, print it for personal use, and share links to it. Please do not republish it as your own or use it commercially without asking.
9 · Acceptable use
- Do not attempt to disrupt, probe or gain unauthorised access to the site or its systems.
- Do not use the forms to send automated, abusive, or bulk unsolicited messages.
- Do not submit information about another person without their knowledge.
10 · Privacy
How information is handled is described in the Privacy Policy, which forms part of these terms. In short: the site collects what you type into its forms plus ordinary usage analytics, and clinical records are handled separately under HIPAA and California law.
11 · Disclaimer and liability
This website is provided as it is, without warranties of any kind. To the extent the law allows, I am not liable for any loss arising from your use of — or inability to use — this website, or from reliance on its general information.
Nothing in these terms limits any liability that cannot lawfully be limited, and nothing here affects the professional obligations I owe to clients under California law and the standards of the Board of Behavioral Sciences.
12 · Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, and any dispute will be handled in the courts of California.
13 · Changes
These terms may change. The date at the top of the page shows when they last did, and continuing to use the site after a change means you accept the current version.
14 · Contact
Shawn Walters, Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist, AMFT #138642
Email: [email protected]
Supervised by Christina Miller-Martinez, LMFT #105663 · Employed by A Good Place Therapy