Shannon Langlois-Kondracki

You are here, and that is the first, most challenging step. I would love to help you figure out where to go next. My practice specialties include adult survivors of childhood abuse/trauma, substance use, PTSD, abuse and neglect, mental health disorders, recidivism/institutionalization, life transitions, and grief & loss. I am an LGBTQIA+ ally and safe practitioner. My approach is non-evasive and collaborative. You can expect a compassionate, supportive, and understanding partner in your mental health care. I have experience as a social worker in the criminal justice field. I have worked as a Federal Public Defender mitigation specialist, a Muskegon County Jail therapist, and with a Federal reentry program. In these experiences with clients, I have gained a better perspective of how abuse, neglect, and trauma can manifest into adulthood as mental health disorders, substance use disorders, personality disorders, and engagement with the criminal justice system. I have been married for 14 years and share five children in a blended family. Our oldest four children are adults and living on their own. Our family has expanded, too, with marriages and grandbabies. Witnessing our children transition into adulthood has been rewarding and difficult as we are forced to navigate what it means to parent adult children. Before marriage, I struggled early in life as a teenage parent, living in public housing and working multiple jobs to provide. Mostly, I found it difficult to be plunged into adulthood with an adolescent brain, only just graduating high school a few months earlier. After my second child was born, I realized I needed to decide whether my choices positively affected my children, and the reality was that my fast life was not providing the stability they deserved. When I met my partner, and we blended our families, we had some major growing pains. Well, to be fair, we had more pain than not. Not only were we attempting to establish roles within a new marriage with four children around the same age, but also navigating co-parenting was almost too much for our marriage to bear. However, we made it through those difficult times and created a solid foundation in our marriage and for our children. We added another child to our family in 2012, which brought new challenges but also fulfillment. When our oldest children graduated from high school and were headed to college, I decided that maybe I should give education a try too. Living what felt like an entire life prior to my education gave me a unique perspective on my future profession as a therapist. I am a limited license master-level social worker (LLMSW) and certified trauma professional (CTP). I graduated from Grand Valley State University (GVSU) with a master of social work degree in 2022 after completing my bachelor of social work at GVSU in 2021. I understand what it means to rise from the ashes of dysfunction, substance abuse, and trauma into a new life of stability. Regardless of how you got to where you are now, I would love to walk with you on your journey towards inner peace and peace of mind. You do not have to bear your burdens alone anymore. Lean on me. I look forward to helping you become the person you want to be.