Exploring Life & Business with Shana Pallotta of Shana Pallotta Therapy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shana Pallotta.

Hi Shana, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m from a small village of 4,000 people in Central New York where almost everyone was Italian-American. I came to Los Angeles in 2005 to go to grad school at UCLA. I fell in love with California’s diversity and mountains, and found a community where I felt myself and at ease. I started out as a researcher and cognitive psychologist, then went to business school, and after a decade in corporate America, I was ready for a shift towards meaning and service, so I became a psychotherapist. I am humbled to be able to support clients through changes and shifts as well, whether it be to try to live with some sense of peace in our troubled world, or finding connection and community in a society where we are becoming more and more isolated.

Outside of my professional life, I love dogs, birds, and being outside. I am an amateur bird photographer. I work with a local conservation organization, trying to protect wildlife and a piece of wildland in Altadena. I am also a ceramicist, enjoying the company of friends at my studio as much as making many (too many?) mugs and bowls.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When I was 40 and a new therapist, both of my parents were diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer within months of each other. I was the primary caretaker for my mom until her death, and after she passed, my dad passed the following year. Navigating the caretaker role and my own grief taught me a lot; and I bring in these insights into my work with clients who are dealing with loss and/or the huge responsibility of caring for a sick loved one.

As you know, we’re big fans of Shana Pallotta Therapy. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I am a psychotherapist in private practice. I have over a decade of experience treating anxiety, trauma, and grief. I also have many clients who are LGBTQIA+, who are neurodivergent, who are highly sensitive people pleasers, and/or who are interested in meditation or other ways to bring the mind, body, and spirit together.

I enjoy working with people who are in a life transition, whether it be an outward or inward one, and people who are seekers. I like being of unconditional support alongside that journey. Many of my clients have experienced loss, trauma, marginalization and are just trying to be good people in an increasingly difficult world.

I prefer a holistic approach – using many modalities to help people. Sometimes talk therapy isn’t enough, sometimes somatic therapy, EMDR, art, meditation, or sound healing can work to calm ourselves, quiet our minds, and open up our hearts.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I have extensive training in the healing arts (meditation, breathwork, yoga, sound healing). In addition to traditional psychotherapy, I also offer individual somatic sound therapy sessions and group sound baths. Using Himalayan singing bowls, crystal bowls, gongs, tuning forks, and other resonant instruments, I guide people out of their ordinary states of stress, sadness, or loneliness and into a different state of awareness—one that can support insight, regulation, and healing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.shanatherapy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanatherapy
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanapallotta
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@shanatherapy