Check Out Shannon Boe’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Boe.

Shannon, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story starts like most, I think. I started taking psychology classes at my local community college and noticed that every semester I found myself wanting to take another one. I then started to wonder how I could make a living with this knowledge. Reflecting back now, I learned a lot about myself during this time, as well as a lot about psychology in general. From there I went to UC Irvine to get my Bachelor’s degree in Psychological Sciences. I had an amazing experience at UC Irvine, but unfortunately, my time was cut short due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. As many did, I finished my last quarter virtually. Before the pandemic hit, I knew I wanted to do a master’s program in clinical psychology. I applied to 5 schools in Southern California. My dream school had always been Pepperdine. There was something that was just magical about it. I was lucky enough to be admitted to their in-person Master’s program at the Malibu Campus. That was one of the biggest and scariest decisions I have had to make up until that point in my life. At the time, we had hoped we would be in-person for this program, but since it was still the beginning of the pandemic, no one really knew how long it would last, or how quickly things would resume to normal.

Unfortunately, my first year in the Master’s program was completely remote. It was devastating to know that this experience was not at all what I had hoped it would be. While Pepperdine did what it could to maintain the quality of the program, it was difficult to know that something was missing. Thankfully, my second and last year of the program was in-person. It was so bitter-sweet. I got really lucky with an amazing cohort. It was truly an amazing and uniquely crafted group of people. I could not have imagined going through this process with anyone else. Fast forwarding, I finished my Master’s in Clinical Psychology in June of 2022. Shortly after Graduation, I relocated to San Jose where I joined Beacon Wellness Team. Beacon Wellness Team is a group practice located in San Jose and Redwood City that specializes in working with Gifted and Twice Exceptions, kids, teens, and adults. Joining this group practice has been an amazing learning opportunity, where I have learned so much from my colleagues and supervisors.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Like most, I would say that COVID-19 shook things up a little bit, but overall I feel that the journey to where I am now has been as smooth as I could expect given the predicaments.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Right now, I am an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist and Associate Professional Clinical Counselor. I work at Beacon Wellness Team as an Associate Therapist. I work with primarily children and teens who struggle with anxiety, depression, and emotional regulation, and those who have experienced trauma. Beacon Wellness Team specializes in working with gifted and twice-exceptional children, teens, and adults. One thing that makes my skill set slightly different is that I am EMDR trained. EMDR is a special type of therapy that can be really helpful in treating trauma as well as other things like anxiety, bullying, phobias, etc. I love getting the opportunity to learn about each child’s unique experience and seeing how I can provide support with different interventions.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
When I was really little, I found that I could be shy at first until I warmed up to the situation or person. While I do remember that there were a few situations that I was very uncomfortable in and probably still would be uncomfortable to this day. Growing up, I was very social. I loved hanging out with my friends. I found that I was most at home when I was with my friends. I really enjoyed playing with stuffed animals and online games. I was also very active as child/teen. I loved sports. I did dance, gymnastics, diving, singing, and soccer. I finally landed on soccer as my main passion in middle school and played all the way up to my senior year of high school.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.beaconwellnessteam.com/
• Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/shannon-boe-san-jose-ca/1079524