Ashanti "Shan" Anderson, LAPC
Trauma Therapist & Poet
Pennsylvania
Creating spaces & stories for you to heal & grow
Shan Anderson, LAPC (he/him) is a clinically-supervised Licensed Associate Professional Counselor and author of the award-winning short poetry collection, Black Under. Identity, culture, spirituality, trauma, and nature are common themes in both his writing and wellness work.Shan currently works with a group private practice in Southeastern PA.
NOW ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS
Shan Anderson, LAPC
(he/him/his)
Those who want to know me, call me Shan (pronounced 'Shawn').
Professional licenses & publications are under my full name, Ashanti Anderson.
Licensed Associate Professional Counselor (Pennsylvania)
License #: APC002753
Supervisor: Alexandra R Darion, LPC
“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation…”
- Audre Lorde
The ongoing demands of survival can wear down our capacity to rest, recognize our needs, trust ourselves, or believe we deserve care. Therapy is a space to experiment with new ways of relating to yourself. Depending on what's useful and interesting to you, our sessions may incorporate trauma-informed parts work, poetry therapies, nature-based practices, and various strengths-based approaches. We get to figure out what healing looks like in each moment, not some point in your life you feel like you never get to.Oppression, culture, disability, race, gender, sexuality, economic conditions, and environmental realities may be part of your story; they are definitely part of mine. Therapy holds space for our lived experiences while still creating room for agency, choices, and needs. This process can transform how we relate to ourselves and, through that, how we engage with the wider world.I'd be glad to be with you on this journey to discover what it means to truly care for yourself, and what happens when you do.
Session Info
Pennsylvania
Individual Therapy (Adults)
@ Alexandra R Darion LLC
Virtual/Telehealth
50 minute sessions (approx.)
Insurance: Most accepted
Self-Pay: Sliding scale
Rates & Fees
Rates and insurance eligibility vary depending on the billing organization. During our consultation, we will discuss financial details. Clients who do not utilize insurance benefits for therapy are billed at the most affordable rate for which they qualify amongst current openings.
Focus Areas
Supporting self-discovery through life transitions
I have specialized education in treating trauma and feel particularly called to assist with that which occurs within the context of relationships, identities, environments, and social systems.
My work commonly centers adults navigating significant transitions or experiences which challenge how they understand themselves, such as:
Early life trauma & (Complex) PTSD
Emerging adulthood (ages 18-29)
Self-Concept (self-criticism, shame, moral injury, etc.)
Social identity-related concerns (race, gender, sexuality, etc.)
Spiritual development
End of life & mortality
I'm passionate about helping people and planet heal from environmental harm & injustice. Just as we affect the Earth and all its inhabitants, non-human factors play an important part in our lives and, often, our trauma.When your relationship with the natural world receives the same attention as any other, repair can make way for greater growth.
Techniques
Trauma Responsive ▪ Culturally Centered ▪ Experiential ▪ Expressive ▪ Nature-based
My approach is integrative, using tools from various styles of therapy. The techniques chosen at any given moment are not random—each is intentional and based on my clinical knowledge, your lived experience, and our collaboration.
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Ecotherapies
Mindfulness
Motivational interviewing
Narrative & Expressive arts (Poetry)
Parts work
Licensure & Credentials
Licensed Associate Professional Counselor (Pennsylvania)
License #: APC002753
I am licensed to practice mental health counseling in the state of Pennsylvania, United States because I am being clinically supervised per state requirements to earn independent licensure.Supervisor:
Alexandra R Darion, LPC
EDUCATION
Master of Science,
Community & Trauma Counseling
Thomas Jefferson UniversityMaster of Fine Arts,
Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts
University of California, Riverside
EXPERIENCE
Outpatient Therapist (Intern)
Merakey
Montgomery County, PA
2025-2026Crisis Worker
Lenape Valley Foundation
Bucks County, PA
2025-2026
Writing
BLACK UNDER
Winner of the Spring 2020 Black River Chapbook Competition
Black Under layers outward perception with internal truth to offer an almost-telescopic examination of the redundancies—and incongruences—of marginalization and hypervisibility... In these pages, declarations are reclamations, and joy is not an aspiration but a birthright.
Praise for Black Under:
"Black Under defies strict categorization, save for the fact that it is altogether excellent."
—Marcus Wicker, author of Silencer and Maybe the Saddest Thing"Witness Anderson's haunting and marvelous skill."
—Kay Ulanday Barrett, cultural strategist and author of More Than Organs a 2021 Stonewall Honor Award Book"I’ve read these poems again and again, and every time I leave like—it’s we time.
—Sara Borjas, author of Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff
Author Bio:
Ashanti Anderson is a Black Queer Disabled writer, 2023 National Endowment for the Arts fellow, and trauma (mental health) therapist. Shan is the author of Black Under, which won the Spring 2020 Black River Chapbook Competition at Black Lawrence Press. A two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, Shan's poems have appeared in POETRY, World Literature Today, and elsewhere. Other published and produced works include research, essays, stage plays, screenplays, and tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs). Shan currently lives in Philly.
Cover Art by Mariah Quintanilla
Selected Publications
Poetry
My Ancestors Who Learned to Read by Staring at the Bible, in Limp Wrist
sister, pick which battle to win when you choose to lose the war, in The Rumpus
Deep Nostalgia, in Container Magazine
Slave Ship Haibun; Acrostic for my Last Breaths, in Jet Fuel Review
Self-Portrait in Blackface; Self-Portrait as Overseer; Resignation, in Tupelo Quarterly
Self-Portrait as Kendrick Lamar, Laughing to the Bank, in Poetry
If, in World Literature Today
Ode to Black Skin, in Poetry (audio available)
Cleaning Up Men's Messes; Mamie Till on Carolyn Bryant's Confession, in Foothill Journal
Goddam, in Really System
Teach Me to Float, in Panoply
Essay
Deep Nostalgia, in Container Magazine
Academic Research
Eskine, K. E., Anderson, A.E., Sullivan, M., and Golob, E. J., (2018). Effects of music listening on creative cognition and semantic memory retrieval. Psychology of Music, 48(4), 513-528.Anderson, A. E. (2014). College Students’ Perceptions of Various Types of Domestic Violence. XULAneXUS: Xavier University of Louisiana’s Undergraduate Research Journal, 11(1), 43-52.
Stage & Screen
Study Room (2018)
Short Film | Credit: Writer
Winner of the 2018 Haley's Flight Page-to-Screen Short Film Competition.
A young woman races against the clock to finish her term paper on time while being harassed by annoying classmates.
Bleak Magic (2021)
One Act Play | Credit: Writer
When a conjure woman perfects a potion for "Black Power", she uncovers the nefarious desires of her clients.
Games
Visit itch.io (external site)
Contact
Requests for Therapy:
Schedule a consultationEmail:
talktoshan [at] protonmail [dot] comCrisis/Emergency:
DIAL OR TEXT 988
Privacy Policy
Last updated: September 11, 2026This Privacy Policy explains how information is handled when you visit this website.Information Collected Through This WebsiteI do not intentionally collect personal information through this website. The website does not currently provide contact forms, user accounts, login functionality, newsletter subscriptions, or other features through which you submit personal information to me.Because this website is hosted through Carrd, certain technical information about visits to the site may be automatically processed in connection with the operation, security, and functionality of the website. This may include information such as your IP address, browser and device information, and information about how you interact with the site.Links to Other WebsitesThis website contains links to external websites and online services, including social media, publications, and other accounts or platforms. These websites are operated independently and have their own privacy policies and practices. I do not control or assume responsibility for information collected by third-party websites after you leave this site.Bookshop.org Affiliate LinksSome links on this website are affiliate links to Bookshop.org. If you purchase a book through one of these links, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Bookshop.org uses cookies associated with affiliate links to attribute purchases to affiliates.Scope of This PolicyThis Privacy Policy applies only to this website. Information collected or maintained in connection with therapy or other professional services is governed by the privacy notices, informed-consent documents, and other policies provided in connection with those services.Changes to This PolicyI may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any updates will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date.ContactIf you have questions about this Privacy Policy, you may contact:Shan Anderson
talktoshan [at] protonmail [dot] com