Robert S. Shope MA LMHC

Robert S. Shope MA LMHC is a counselor for and the Executive Director and Administrator of Balanced Perspectives Counseling Services. He counsels adults (individually or as couples), adolescents and older children. In addition to helping people with a wide variety of behavioral and emotional and life situations, he specializes in helping Problem Gamblers and their affected family members and friends. He counsels based on solidly proven social science research findings and, for those who request it, he includes Christian spirituality as it may apply to his clients’ concerns. 

He is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who has been working as a counselor since 1979.  He graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston IL 

with an MA in Counseling Psychology in 1981.  He also received an MA in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena CA in 1986.  He has been an Instructor in Psychology for Grays Harbor College in Aberdeen WA. He co-founded two Washington State Licensed Therapeutic Foster Care Agencies: he was the clinical director of Youth For Christ in Poulsbo, WA and executive director of Compassionate Foster Care in Port Orchard, WA.  In these positions Robert helped to serve children with therapeutic needs.  

Robert founded his own private practice in 1995 and specializes in individual counseling for adults, adolescents and older children.  He currently treats clients with a variety of mental health disorders including depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD  trauma, military related concerns, life situation difficulties, adult survivors childhood sexual abuse and domestic violence, gambling issues, sexual addictions, alcohol and substance abuse related issues. His primary therapeutic orientation is cognitive behavioral with the inclusion of principles of Christian spirituality for those who request it. He incorporates Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Rational Emotive Therapy and  principles derived from research in the area of Positive Psychology to help his clients develop lifestyle habits that will ensure their emotional resilience and longlasting ability to cope more effectively when stressed.

He also specializes in helping couples improve their marital satisfaction by equipping and coaching them to use social science proven communication and cooperative problem solving strategies. He uses Family Systems Theory and the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) to guide most  of his interventions. He includes Christian spirituality for those couples who request it.

He teaches effective parenting strategies from a Family Centered approach. This may be contrasted with strategies that primarily focus on the needs of only the children or the needs of the parents. Rather parents are encouraged to use their positions of adult responsibility to assess and manage their families balancing the needs of every family member in a fair and effective manner.

In 2007 Robert  founded Balanced Perspectives Inc., which is a distinct and separate entity beyond his private practice, primarily: A) to serve Problem Gamblers and their affected families and friends with available subsidized care from the State of Washington and donations from various local casinos; B)  to develop low cost counseling opportunies for those needing counseling who are without insurance or medicaid by enlisting Masters Level interns, who are interested in learning how to ethically incorporate Christian spirituality into their counseling as they worked toward obtaining their required hours toward full state licensure, to offer low or no cost counseling; 

Currently, Robert is also available to do presentations on a wide variety of topics for your organization.