Shelley Eagleman-Bointy

I’m Shelley Eagleman-Bointy, a licensed clinical social worker with over 25 years of experience working within Indigenous and tribal communities.

I am Dakota from the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of Montana, and the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa from Michigan. I received my master’s degree from the University of Kansas in 2004, and I’ve spent my career working with Native communities and supporting individuals in navigating their mental health in ways that feel respectful, grounded, and real.

There is a real gap when it comes to Native and Indigenous clinicians. I’ve heard too many stories from people who finally reach out for help—something that already takes so much—and end up feeling unseen or misunderstood. Or they spend their time in therapy explaining their culture, their experiences, their way of being, instead of being supported in it. Many people stop trying after that.

I center Indigenous and tribal communities in my work, while also offering care to BIPOC clients and individuals of all backgrounds who are looking for a more grounded, culturally-aware approach to therapy.

My approach is collaborative and tailored to each person. I draw from behavioral therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), solution-focused work, and trauma-informed practices, while staying rooted in a strength-based perspective. Above all, the work is guided by you—your goals, your experiences, and what healing looks like in your life.

The first session is simply a place to begin.

We’ll take some time to get to know each other. I’ll share a bit about how I work, and you can share whatever feels important about what brought you here.

We’ll talk through practical things like scheduling and insurance, but we’ll also spend time understanding how you process best. Some people think out loud, some need time to reflect or write. There’s no right way to do this.

If you’ve been in therapy before, we can talk about what worked and what didn’t. If you haven’t, that’s okay too.

Diagnoses come up in this process, but I don’t see people as defined by them. They’re just one piece of a much larger picture.

Mostly, this is a time to begin our collaboration. You don’t have to carry everything in at once. We’ll take it one step at a time.