Isabella McShea,

Isabella McShea moved to Nashville to pursue her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Vanderbilt and is thrilled to be a clinical intern with The Collective. Rooted in her undergraduate education at Colorado College, which focused on the intersections of sociology and public health, Isabella takes a holistic approach to therapy and healing, acknowledging the bigger systems at play that impact her clients' lives. Working with clients is a privilege, and Isabella views counseling as a co-created process between her clients and herself.

Her goal as a counselor is to help clients live authentic, fulfilling, and healthy lives in their relational, personal, and professional spheres. Unfortunately, there is no "magic pill" approach to counseling, and thus, Isabella believes every client's experience deserves a unique approach to best serve their goals, needs, and desires in therapy. Challenges, setbacks, and growth opportunities exist as people progress. As a counselor, she hopes to provide a space for clients to explore how to create healthy well-being strategies and process experiences in affirming and appropriately paced ways. 

Her approach to counseling is informed by a mix of theoretical approaches that can be summarized as being "person-centered." Clients are the experts in their experiences, and Isabella aims to empower them through their inherent strength, wisdom, and skill set. People exist within and are impacted by the greater context of institutions, politics, religions, families, identities, communities, and other outside influences, all of which Isabella is eager to discuss and incorporate into her client’s healing journey. Isabella is also a Level 1 brainspotting practitioner and is thrilled to be able to offer this modality to clients.

In her free time, you can find Isabella at the climbing gym, on her mountain bike, or at an orange theory class. She enjoys making big dinners for her family and friends inspired by her Greek grandmother, making somewhat functional ceramics, and listening to pop culture podcasts.