Shianne Syed, LPC, NCC, PMH-C

06/22/2026

2021 ➡️ 2026

Sometimes I watch old videos like this and smile at the version of myself who thought she had it all figured out. This video was created during my first semester of internship. I was passionate, determined, and absolutely certain about the direction my career would take. I was going to be a play therapist.

There is an old saying: “We plan and God laughs.” The older I get, the more I understand the wisdom in those words. I said I would never work in addiction treatment. My first job immediately following graduation from Lamar was in a residential substance use facility, where I spent the next two years learning some of the most valuable lessons of my career.

I said I would probably never own a private practice because I believed I functioned best within established systems and clear organizational leadership. Yet here I am, approaching one year of running my own practice.

The truth is that every step I was afraid to take became an opportunity for growth. Every season of uncertainty stretched me. Every unexpected detour taught me something I could not have learned otherwise. The counselor I am today was shaped not only by the plans that worked out, but by the plans that didn’t. And for that, I would not change a thing.

To anyone walking through a season of transition, fear, and uncertainty, know that it is okay if your life does not look the way you planned. The version of success you imagined five years ago may not be the version that ultimately fulfills you. Trust that growth is happening, even when the path ahead is unclear. Sometimes life unfolds differently than we imagined — not because we’ve failed, but because something greater is unfolding.

Keep showing up. Keep taking the next step. Have faith in the process. Have faith in your ability to adapt. And have faith that not every detour is a setback.

06/22/2026

Happy (slightly late) Father’s Day to the fathers and partners navigating pregnancy, postpartum life, and the many transitions that come with growing a family.

The journey into parenthood changes both parents, often in ways that are unexpected. While much attention is rightfully given to mothers, fathers also experience stress, anxiety, adjustment challenges, and significant life changes during this season.

Today, we celebrate the dads who are learning, adapting, supporting, and loving their families through every stage of parenthood. Thank you for the love, guidance, support, and sacrifices you make for your families every day. Your presence has a lasting impact, and the work you do often matters more than you realize.

Your role matters. Your well-being matters. And your presence makes a difference.

06/19/2026

My name is Shianne Syed, M.Ed., LPC, NCC, PMH-C, and I am passionate about helping individuals navigate life’s challenges with compassion, authenticity, and practical support.

Whether you are struggling with anxiety, depression, stress, relationship concerns, trauma, life transitions, or the emotional challenges that can accompany pregnancy and parenthood, therapy can provide a space to slow down, process what you are carrying, and move toward meaningful change.

Seeking support is not a sign of weakness. It is often one of the bravest things a person can do.

If you have been considering therapy, this is your reminder that you do not have to navigate everything on your own.

📍 Lake Charles, Louisiana
💻 Telehealth available in Louisiana and Texas
📩 Currently accepting new clients

05/22/2026

Today, I officially passed the Perinatal Mental Health Certification (PMH-C) exam through Postpartum Support International, and I am incredibly grateful to share this milestone with my community.

This certification represents far more than a credential to me. It reflects years of clinical work, continued education, personal reflection, and a deep commitment to supporting individuals and families throughout the perinatal journey. Pregnancy, postpartum, infertility, birth trauma, pregnancy loss, identity shifts, anxiety, depression, relationship changes, and the emotional complexity of becoming or being a parent deserve compassionate, informed, and evidence-based care.

As both a therapist and a mother, this work is deeply meaningful to me. I understand how transformative, beautiful, overwhelming, isolating, and vulnerable these seasons of life can feel. My goal has always been to create a therapeutic space where people feel genuinely seen as whole human beings rather than reduced to a diagnosis, a symptom, or a difficult season of life.

I am thankful for every client who has trusted me with their stories, every mentor and colleague who has supported my growth, and every loved one who encouraged me through this process. I look forward to continuing to serve individuals and families in Louisiana and Texas with expanded knowledge, compassion, and dedication to maternal and perinatal mental health care.

-Shianne Syed, M. Ed., LPC, NCC, PMH-C🎉

05/21/2026

As summer approaches, I have been thinking a lot about the invisible barriers that often interfere with people being able to consistently attend therapy — especially parents and caregivers.

One of the most common challenges I see is childcare. When school is out for the summer, schedules change dramatically. Parents who were previously able to attend sessions during school hours may suddenly find themselves struggling to prioritize their own mental health needs while simultaneously caring for children full-time. For many caregivers, it is not a lack of desire for support. It is a lack of accessible support systems.

As I continue expanding my work in perinatal and postpartum mental health, I want to be intentional about not only providing therapy, but also thinking critically about the real-life obstacles that prevent people from accessing care consistently and sustainably.

Over the coming weeks, I will be working on gathering and organizing community resources that may help reduce some of these barriers for clients and families. This may include local childcare resources, summer programs, parent support resources, telehealth-friendly options, community organizations, and other tools that support caregivers in accessing mental health treatment.

If you are a parent, caregiver, educator, childcare provider, community organization, student, or professional with knowledge of helpful local resources, I would genuinely love to connect and collaborate. Mental health care becomes far more effective when communities work together to support families as whole people, not just as individuals expected to “push through” overwhelming circumstances alone.

If you are a Lake Charles native/resident, drop your favorite local resources for parents and caregivers here.

05/12/2026

05/10/2026

Mother’s Day can hold many meanings, often existing in both tenderness and complexity at the same time. For some, it is a day filled with connection, gratitude, and celebration. For others, it may bring grief, longing, exhaustion, or quiet reflection on what has been, what is, or what was hoped for. It is important to acknowledge that there is no single way to experience this day, and every emotional response that arises is valid within the context of one’s story.

Motherhood, in all of its forms, is layered and deeply human. It can include joy and fulfillment alongside overwhelm, identity shifts, and invisible emotional labor. It can also include experiences of loss, infertility, strained relationships, or the absence of a maternal figure. For some, it may not feel like a day of celebration at all, but rather a reminder of something tender or unresolved. Holding space for these realities is just as important as honoring moments of connection and love.

In both my professional work and personal experience as a mother, I have come to understand that love and fear can coexist in powerful ways. There can be moments of deep connection alongside thoughts that feel intrusive or unsettling, questions about adequacy, or fears about what the future holds. These experiences are far more common than many realize, yet they are often carried in silence.

For those who may be struggling during pregnancy or the postpartum period, support is available and accessible. Postpartum Support International offers resources, education, and connection to trained providers who understand the unique challenges of this stage of life. Seeking support is a meaningful and appropriate step toward care.

Whether this day feels grounding, overwhelming, joyful, or heavy, your experience is valid. Motherhood does not require perfection; it requires presence, and even that can look different from one moment to the next. For those who nurture, care for, guide, or hold space for others in any capacity, your presence has impact. And for those navigating this day with heaviness, you are not alone in that experience. Both can be true, and both deserve acknowledgment.

04/21/2026

I recently received authorization to sit for the Perinatal Mental Health Certification (PMH-C) exam through Postpartum Support International. This milestone reflects advanced training in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, as well as a continued commitment to providing thoughtful, evidence-based care to individuals navigating pregnancy, postpartum, and the many transitions that surround them.

Perinatal mental health is often discussed in terms of diagnoses and symptoms, but the lived experience is far more complex. It can involve identity shifts, relational changes, grief, fear, resilience, and everything in between. This work requires not only clinical knowledge, but presence, attunement, and a willingness to sit with the full scope of someone’s experience.

Pursuing this certification is one way I continue to deepen that capacity.

As always, my approach remains centered on seeing the whole person — not just a diagnosis, not just a moment of distress, but the entirety of who they are and what they carry.

I am looking forward to sitting for the exam and continuing to grow in ways that directly support the individuals and families I have the privilege of working with.

04/20/2026

BUT GOD!!! Shianne Syed, M. Ed., LPC, NCC -- now licensed/privileged to practice in Louisiana, Texas, Arizona, Minnesota, and Ohio under the Counseling Compact!

03/30/2026

With a new month comes another conference!

There are seasons in a woman’s life that ask more of her than she ever imagined she could give. Pregnancy and the postpartum period are often spoken about as joyful, sacred, and transformative — and they are — but they can also be overwhelming, disorienting, and deeply heavy in ways that are difficult to name out loud. Too often, women are left navigating those experiences in silence, questioning themselves, or believing they are somehow “getting it wrong.”

From April 10th through April 12th, I will be attending an intensive, evidence-based training focused on the assessment and treatment of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders across pregnancy and postpartum. This includes advanced clinical work in differential diagnosis, diagnostic coding, evidence-based interventions, and the often under-discussed realities of grief and loss during the perinatal period.

This training is part of the pathway toward becoming certified in perinatal mental health through Postpartum Support International, and more importantly, it reflects a continued commitment to providing care that is informed, attuned, and responsive to the full complexity of a woman’s experience during this chapter of life.

Women deserve to be seen beyond the surface of “new motherhood.” They deserve space to speak honestly about what they are feeling without fear of judgment or dismissal. They deserve support that acknowledges both the beauty and the burden that can coexist during this time.

As I continue to grow in this area of practice, my hope is to better support individuals navigating identity shifts, emotional overwhelm, relationship changes, and the quiet griefs that can accompany pregnancy and postpartum, whether those experiences are expected or not.

If this is a season you are in, or one you have quietly walked through, you are not alone. And you were never meant to carry it by yourself.