Shawn Goozh PsyD: Psychotherapy & Couples Therapy

I’ve had a good number of years’ experience with a good number of therapists for both individual and couples counseling, and at one point given up hope. I found Shawn online and started seeing him individually, then started also seeing him with my fiancée for couples work. My experiences with Shawn have been unique. He’s the first counselor I’ve known with a serious meditation practice. I had found meditation to be more effective that the previous counselors I’d seen for getting insight into my own issues – now I can integrate my meditation practice with counseling work. In the past, I found the high and strict boundaries around the psycho-​analytic process to be an artificial contrivance that limited my trust. Shawn brings a genuine warmth and humanity to the process, and while his flexibility has appropriate limits, it has included the ability to work with me individually and also with my partner in couples work, which has yielded great synergy and results. In couples sessions in particular, I’ve found his unique combination of grace, compassion, wisdom, insight, and authenticity to be enormously helpful. I give him my highest recommendation.

Shawn and I first met years ago at a Hakomi training (an experiential therapy technique that utilizes mindfulness and in-​the-​moment awareness). I have to say, I was immediately struck by his calm, accepting presence. By now I have known and interacted with him for several years and can say that even more. I am impressed with his dedication to his craft, his passion for working with individuals and couples (as another Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) practitioner I can attest as to the effectiveness of this approach), and his steady, informed ability in the field of psychotherapy. I would recommend him highly. He’s the real deal.

Shawn is a skilled and insightful therapist. His depth and spaciousness invite you into your experience in a gentle way. This makes the process open and inquisitive rather than overly challenging. He is an experienced individual and couples therapist, so whether you want to do work on yourself or work a relationship, he can help. I recommend seeing him, as he provides valuable feedback and ways to increase your sense of vitality and flow of life.

Shawn is an amazing therapist. He taught me to slow down and take in and embrace the emotional moments. It’s amazing how this very simple thing can change you. Shawn is a very emotional person and his sensibility towards others allows him to fully empathize with you and others around you. His understanding of other’s thoughts and feelings is always three steps ahead and several level deeper than anyone else. This degree of analysis, understanding and connection is invaluable for the great advice he gives. Shawn will help you get more in touch with you emotions as well as be more vocal and articulate about them. I will always be grateful to Shawn for his coaching… It has definitely helped me understand myself better and understand and have more meaningful enriching relationships with others.

I just read the couples review right before this one, and I read the term they used for him, couples whisperer. This is so true! He has a way of making the hard and difficult between me and my partner seem approachable, not so heavy, and actually even like an interesting and valuable life lesson. He brings a wonderful perspective to the places where our relationship feels stuck. We have had many visits where we went in mad at each other, and left his office holding hands and more in love with each other. It is really relieving, refreshing, and so helpful to have Shawn as guide and aide in our dynamic relationship.
Not to mention, as the other couple said, he has a wonderful, calm, loving, present, and caring presence. He is also very respectful, and knows how to guide a session. His presence makes it easy to open and feel comfortable going into challenging territory. Thank you Shawn! I am grateful you do what you do!

It was a pleasure working with Shawn. He helped me connect with people on a deeper level and build more meaningful relationships. Through his support, coaching and how willing and eager he was to engage and model new behaviors, he taught me a lot about myself and about interpersonal relationships. When you’re undertakingf personal development work, Shawn is the type of person you want in your corner to help you on your journey.

My experience with Shawn was very warm and transformative. His somatic work was incredibly helpful for me in a really rough time in my life. Shawns approach was very kind and compassionate as he helped guide me to a better understanding of who I am and what I need in my life.

Shawn is amazing at what he does. I came to him with my then girlfriend (now Fiancée) to work through some very difficult issues. We were arguing a lot and got to the point where we stuck — we weren’t making progress on any of the issues. My fiancée is also not a big fan of therapists in general — so it was difficult for us to even get to the first session.
What Shawn does better than anything is disarm tension. It’s difficult to articulate how he does this but it starts with a very serene, warm presence. This allowed my fiancée and I to communicate with less fear, anger and resentment which led to us getting unstuck. We started affectionately referring to Shawn as the couples whisperer.

I know Shawn as a colleague at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where we facilitate the interpersonal dynamics training of the MBA students.
What I like about Shawn: he has a zen-​like presence that makes you feel comfortable being vulnerable. He makes it easy to share your challenges and fears. I have personally confided my own relationship challenges with him and sought his help with marriage counseling. He asks great questions. I find he has the right mix of intelligence and intuition. There is compassion without judgement. Yet, as gentle as he is, I know that he will give a push when necessary and make sure that tough issues are not ignored. Shawn is talented in his work and a great resource to know.

When my girlfriend and I first came to Shawn, we were in dire straits. We were at a crossroads in our relationship, and if we wanted to stay together, we knew we had to do something outside of our comfort zone. Shawn was exactly what we were looking for. Within just a month of attending sessions with him, the improvement in our relationship and our desire to work toward improving ourselves grew exponentially. I, personally, am not one to believe psychotherapy would ever be effective for me, but I was determined to give him the chance to prove me wrong, and he exceeded my expectations. His methods and his advice have been instrumental in helping my girlfriend and me to not just repair, but build our relationship to new heights. Thanks for everything, Shawn.

I met Shawn at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he facilitated my group for a interpersonal dynamics course. I spent more than 50 hours with him and got a chance to know him closely. Shawn is a very thoughtful person who spends time understanding the other person. He has a zen-​like calm and is able to draw people out. He is able to spot emotional triggers and probe deeper at the right moments. He also has the unique capability of talking through a difficult conversation that is mostly avoided or dismissed by people on the first go.
I have personally bonded with Shawn over Buddhism and meditation. I completely trust him. He is my go-​to person for psychotherapy and personal advise.

It’s not easy to put into words the value and positive impact that Shawn has brought into our lives.
We came to Shawn, like many other on here, whilst experiencing a complete breakdown of communication and just being in overall a very «bad place» in our relationship. My boyfriend and I were broken up and haven’t spoken in days. The feelings of pain, anger, resentment have took us to the breaking point. There was no longer any positive, upward growth in our relationship and neither one of us could figure out a way to fix things. And trust me we tried!
Coming into Shawn’s office wasn’t easy, but we were willing to do the work. Ultimately we love each other very much but neither of us had a great basis for what successful relationships look like. Shawn is amazing with working with people who come from backgrounds of childhood trauma, addiction issues and abuse. In the beginning it seemed like the sessions weren’t helping at all and we would leave feeling emotionally beaten up and exhausted. Some sessions got so heated that Shawn had to literally separate us into different rooms. We had «homework» assignments each week where we were expected to implement the work that we were doing in therapy into our daily lives. This was definitely a challenge. But we knew we had to keep going, we had no choice as our own futile attempts before Shawn only perpetuated the downward spiral.
We went in feeling completely powerless, but through Shawn’s guidance and with our own hard work we started to feel empowered and in control of the relationship again. We are better than ever, we communicate and understand each other, there is a solid foundation for longevity and the future is no longer this bleak scary thing but a beautiful, bright place that we are excited to take on together.
Thanks Shawn! For everything you are truly gifted!

Ditto to all the five-​star reviews Shawn has already received. Shawn really is that good!
My fiancée and I have been seeing Shawn for a few months now. We had both had not-​so-​great experiences with couples therapists before, so we had phone interviews with several therapists before deciding to go with Shawn. He just felt like a good fit. We are so glad we chose Shawn! Shawn really is the perfect blend of knowing when to listen and when to chime in. It’s easy to open up to Shawn because he never makes you feel embarrassed or judged. Also, Shawn isn’t just talk therapy — he offers us creative strategies tailored to our personalities to help us move forward.
My fiancée and I feel closer than ever and our communication skills (the root of many of our issues) have improved tremendously. We’re going to continue seeing Shawn for premarital counseling, and probably continue to see him after we’re married just for maintenance.

We started going to Shawn for couples counseling about two months ago after locating him on Unilocal.
To be honest – I have always had my doubts about counseling in general, and couple’s counseling in particular – [although I admit my prior experiences have been few]. To potentially complicate matters, all my preconceived counseling notions had the chance of running head on into the reality of choosing a confidant that we found through a set of Unilocal reviews – rather than in a more traditional referral fashion.
Shawn has allayed every single one of these doubts in grand fashion and has made me a believer in the notion that an objective, independent professional with the right skills, methodology and compassion for others can make a dramatic difference in a persons life in a short period of time.
The issues in our relationship are complex – and as is often the case — -are intertwined with experiences that occurred long before we knew each other, as well as life events that are external to our direct relationship with one another now.
Shawn has displayed a unique ability to identify these issues quickly and has done a superb job of very gingerly, one layer at a time, helping us to peel back the reality of these experiences, identifying those that are truly impacting our interpersonal relationship, and structuring a non threatening framework to empower us to deal with them – one step at a time — and improve our life together in the process.
During these get togethers, Shawn has managed to not only gain my trust as a male –[someone who by the way is normally reluctant to discuss his emotions and feelings freely], but has slowly and gently managed to facilitate this same feeling of trust in my partner by adopting an approach that resonates from a woman’s perspective as well.
I also share below some additional thoughts that I pondered before and during the process – that might help others who are considering reaching out to a professional such as Shawn.
The Commitment Piece: Effort, time and money — the three usual culprits — is it worth it?
Effort: It is clear that to get value from the counseling experience – it requires an open mind, a willingness to make changes to the status quo, and a commitment to put genuine effort into the experience – along with a dose of humility and patience along the way. Without these elements – expecting positive and meaningful results is a misplaced hope and nothing more.
Time: It will also take some time – both on and off the court so to speak. On that score you need to ask yourself — is trying to change your relationship – or your individual life — worth the 1 – 1 ½ hours a week in direct counseling time commitment that our experience required?
Money: It will cost money— —which if it provides even a modicum of positive incremental change – will be money well invested.
I can honestly say that over the course of the last eight weeks – the amount of effort, time and money invested has been negligible when compared with the results Shawn has helped us achieve in such a short amount of time. For me — after being a skeptic walking in – my answer is a resounding yes – its been well worth it— on all three fronts.
Results: Did we get any – and is it a counseling commitment for life?
How about the very real question of pragmatic results — has it worked – and is this a lifetime commitment to a weekly counseling session with no end on the horizon?
Since meeting Shawn initially, the time engaged on these efforts has been relatively short – especially considering how long it took us to put up these relationship barriers. I am personally amazed at how much we have accomplished together with Shawn in such a short amount of time.
We got results – much quicker than I anticipated – and at a much deeper level than I would have thought possible — it worked for us. I believe if you have the passion and commitment to try – it will work for you!
Good luck to all the folks who have the courage to take the leap and ask for a little help in improving their lives — I wish you all the best of luck!!!

Each time my partner and I see Shawn, we come away with new insights and techniques to build a better relationship. He creates a safe environment to explore tough questions. I can express things I was hesitant to say. Shawn is direct and challenges us to confront difficult issues. I think this is key to making progress and I find it refreshing. We go beyond just analyzing our relationship and work on emotional expression and physical interaction. I definitely recommend Shawn!

Shawn is a superb psychotherapist! As an executive coach who partners with emerging and established leaders, I’ve had the opportunity to witness Shawn in action and Shawn is impressive! He combines a thoughtful approach with a gentle touch that lands lightly but oh so on target. He tends to the heart. He shifts the mind. And, as a result, he’s effective in changing behavior.

Shawn is a phenomenal couples counselor. As another therapist, I highly recommend him.

I’ve worked with Shawn for about 6 weeks of couples and individual therapy. As the other reviews have already attested to, he’s a wonderful person and therapist. Neither my girlfriend nor I had ever been to therapy before last year. We tried a different therapist for a few months and were still not sure if therapy could help us. If you’re on the fence, I *strongly* recommend you give him try.
I wanted to share a story about my girlfriend’s and my first session with him.
We had scheduled our session with Shawn over the holidays. It’s worth noting that he was extremely responsive and flexible, agreeing to meet us the same week and on New Year’s Eve.
Our relationship had hit an extremely low point, and we had effectively broken up the night before our session. That being said we decided to go to the session anyway and see what he could make of it. We both felt pretty hopeless.
Shawn quickly assessed our situation and made us both feel comfortable, supported and listened to. He saw what we were hoping for (some kind of miracle) and, amazingly enough, delivered. In our first session he got to the very root of our current difficulties and I had a major breakthrough. Although extremely vulnerable, I felt completely safe and supported throughout.
My girlfriend and I left the session feeling hopeful about our relationship, and since then we’ve continued to be impressed with Shawn, the growth of ourselves and each other.

I’ve done many kinds of healing work and have to say that I have a preference for a more hands-​on, body-​oriented approach. I felt hesitant to try psychotherapy at first. I imagined it would be awkward and mainly time to rehash the past. After my first session with Shawn, I realized he had a real gift. Shawn works with the past to relate with what was coming up for me in the present and more specifically what was happening in my body. This is exactly how one can heal — by working with the present moment.
I was amazed at his skill, the gentleness of his approach, and his clarity. The space he provides is nurturing and feels very different that what I thought counseling session might look like. I’ve always been interested in psychology to heal the body mind but it was really in working with Shawn that I felt his effortless work with me in helping me understand the relationship between body and mind. Shawn is the real deal. Go see him.

We feel blessed to have Shawn in our lives.
We were interested in pre-​marital therapy but never really committed. We were hopeful that it would, somehow, lead to a stronger marriage but were a bit skeptical. On the muni platform before our first visit we were a coin-​flip away from just going home and skipping out. We would’ve never known how big of a mistake that was.
Neither of us knew what to expect in our first session, but Shawn led us through the first few minutes of awkwardness. He put us together face to face and nudged us towards a discussion about what we see in each other. He let us unpack ourselves and get to know him and get to know each other better and more honestly than before.
My biggest skepticism of couples therapy was always the uncertainty of how exactly it would work. Personal therapy works like friendships work, but three people? Shawn is a true third wheel. One of us (my fiancé or me) is doing the hard work of sharing, the other is holding the space and listening, and Shawn is always up front steering, giving us direction and stability and helping us carry the load. It feels like 2-​parts painkiller and 1-​part vitamin, helping us through the difficult times and elevating the happy, intimate moments. Now we wish he was around more often, popping his head up every few minutes with a nudge back on track or a shade of tough love and compassion.
He’s a truly gifted therapist. He’s quiet and soothing, somewhere near our 30-​ish age range. He’s always put-​together and punctual and consistent. He’s not there to take sides, but he’s never needed to remind us of that: consciously or not he avoids all the pop culture couples-​therapy cliches.
We’re slowly winding down this current course of therapy and that’s a little bittersweet, but Shawn has taught us how to continue this work on our own. Our sessions are so couple-​focused that the conversation continues on the walk home without missing a beat. He’s helped us develop techniques that serve us well, and not just in arguments.
We will continue to welcome Shawn into our lives and our relationship in the future as needed. He has earned our respect and every dollar of his hourly rate. There is nothing better and more rewarding in my life than my relationship with my fiancé, and our work with Shawn has made that best thing even better.