Shanae Adams MA, LPCC, NCC, CIGT is a Sexuality Professional from Denver, CO. She is a Taurus sun and moon and Virgo rising. While pursuing her Bachelors of Science degree at the University of Missouri, she served as a Sexual Health Advocate Peer Educator on campus. In this group, she discovered a passion for sexuality education and an adept ability to present these topics with a unique flair and an engaging personality. Shanae created Honestl yNae LLC to serve her mission of normalization, explanation, and melanated representation. Since its inception in 2017, Honestly Nae has conducted over 2000 hours of education, presented at over 60 professional conferences, been featured on numerous blogs, podcasts, and educational outlets, and conducted several professional development seminars. Honestly Nae is a sought out voice for sexuality topics related to identity, pleasure, intersection, kink/fetish, sex work, trauma, and Queer, Trans*, Indigenous, Black, People of Color issues. Feedback for Honestly Nae includes, “Shanae presents these topics in a way that makes me feel seen and heard,” and  “It feels great to see queer black femmes confident and knowledgeable about topics I struggle with.” From this feedback, Shanae sought to create more intentional community building to aid in her mission.

In 2019 The Chrysalis House LCA was co-founded to provide space for transformation. The mission of The Chrysalis House is sex-positive holistic radical affirmation and care. They accomplish this mission by hosting joy-centered events, conducting education focused on financial, emotional, and mental stability, and building a resource network of clothes, food, and basic needs support. Their efforts were significant during the pandemic as they were able to provide 100 people with assistance. They hope that as health rates improve, they can get back to in-person events and activities but, they have not let quarantine their impact. Their virtual community-building events have high attendance rates, and they look forward to delivering these engagement opportunities offline.

Shanae received her Masters in Clinical Counseling from Adams State University in 2020. She felt called to getting this degree due to the comfortability and openness her participants experienced in workshops. It was not uncommon for Shanae to be approached by attendees and asked to hold space for their vulnerable feelings. She did her best but, Shanae felt there was a level of support the community asked of her that she did not have to tools to deliver. Her private practice MAI Therapeutic Services stands on three pillars: Manifest, Affirm, Intent. Shanae believes her clients have the power to manifest a reality in which they can thrive and that therapy can be an intentional space to focus on that work. Shanae’s role is to support and affirm her clients on that journey. Shanae brings the same openness and engagement to her therapeutic clients that she brings to her dynamic workshops. Her therapeutic modalities are client-centered, somatic, and indigenized approaches. Many of her clients struggle with millennial issues, identity difficulties, sexuality-related concerns, and feeling like they have more potential to reach. In the future, Shanae hopes to educate future clinicians on sex-positive practices to create more opportunities for clients to be affirmed and supported on their journeys.

I regard therapy as an intentional space to manifest a reality in which you can thrive. My mission is to affirm my clients along their journey, providing insight, support, and therapeutic pushback; this strategy aids in deepening knowledge of self. As a queer black femme, I've learned that understanding and acceptance provide the foundation needed to build achievable and challenging goals. We will together, pulling from a variety of modalities to design interventions that help you achieve your therapeutic goals.

Area of focus: QTBIPOC Issues, Sexuality & Sex Related Needs, Millennial Concerns, Trauma, Depression, Anxiety, Neuro Divergent  Concerns all from a sex-positive, kink aware, trauma-informed intersectional lens.