Traits You Need for the Life You Want
Helping people break out of their personality type boxes & intentionally cultivate traits that will bring them closer to their values/goals.
Work with Shannon

Traits You Need for the Life You Want
Helping people break out of their personality type boxes & intentionally cultivate traits that will bring them closer to their values/goals.
Work with Shannon

Shannon Sauer-Zavala, PhD AuthorSpeakerScientific ResearcherLicensed Psychologist
Individual Support
Individual Support
Learn MoreTherapist Training
Therapist Training
Learn MoreInspiring Keynotes & Workshops
Inspiring Keynotes & Workshops
Learn MoreMeet Shannon
Dr. Sauer-Zavala is Licensed Clinical Psychologist with over 15 years of experience working with people struggling with anxiety and depression. She is also an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Kentucky (UK) where she develops new treatments for common mental health conditions and tests them in rigorous clinical trials. Dr. Sauer-Zavala is the lead developer of a short-term intervention personality difficulties to address common mental health problems – COMPASS (a loose acronym for cognitive behavioral modules for personality symptoms). Dr. Sauer-Zavala is also the Founder and Director of Compass Mental Health Training & Consulting, through which she has been invited all over the country and the world (Ireland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, South Africa, Hong Kong, Japan, Russia, Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Canada) to train therapists in her potent, parsimonious interventions.
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What We Do
- for Meeting Planners
- for Individual Support
- for Mental Health Providers
for Meeting Planners and Event Organizers
Keynotes & Workshops
Helping people break out of their personality type boxes & intentionally cultivate traits that will bring them closer to their values/goals
for Individuals Seeking One-on-One Support
Work with Dr. Sauer-Zavala
Personality Coaching & Psychological Treatment
- Coaching to get unstuck & reach your full potential
- Personality Assessment
- Science-based treatment for anxiety, depression, & BPD
for Mental Health Providers & Organizations
Expert Training in COMPASS
Personality-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Consultation
- Workshops
- Certifications
- Implementation
- for Meeting Planners
- for Individual Support
- for Mental Health Providers
for Meeting Planners and Event Organizers
Keynotes & Workshops
Helping people break out of their personality type boxes & intentionally cultivate traits that will bring them closer to their values/goals
for Individuals Seeking One-on-One Support
Work with Dr. Sauer-Zavala
Personality Coaching & Psychological Treatment
- Coaching to get unstuck & reach your full potential
- Personality Assessment
- Science-based treatment for anxiety, depression, & BPD
for Mental Health Providers & Organizations
Expert Training in COMPASS
Personality-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Consultation
- Workshops
- Certifications
- Implementation
Take Personality Compass Assessment
Break free from your "Personality Type" and intentionally develop the traits that will move you toward the life you want.
Clinician Training
Workshops
Certification Programs
Program Implementation
"I help people develop the characteristics to achieve the lives they want by busting the myth that personality is set in stone."
Individual support
Self-help Resources
Personality Coaching
Psychological Treatment
What people are saying
"I enjoyed the real-life applications from the speaker’s own clinical experience”
"Dynamic presenter with unassuming, but well-informed approach”
"Very articulate – enough energy to sustain a day"
“Dr. Sauer-Zavala’s enthusiasm for the topic was much appreciated”
“The best public speaker I’ve seen”
Shannon’s Blogs
Why You Should Be Your Own Valentine
Rethinking Valentine’s Day: It’s Not Just About Romance Valentine’s Day is often framed as a celebration of romantic love—grand gestures,...
Breaking the “Good Girl” Cycle
How perfection is Sabotaging Your Potential If you grew up being praised for being a “good girl”—polite, hardworking, responsible—it probably...
Winter Blues or Something More
It starts subtly. The days get shorter, the temperature drops, and suddenly, everything feels a little harder. If you’ve noticed...