Patricia Shutt, Psy.D. CEDS

PY 6439

Dr. Patricia Shutt has spent over two decades helping people heal. In 2013, she built a place where that work could happen at its best.

Dr. Shutt co-founded Therapeutic Oasis of the Palm Beaches in 2013 alongside Dr. Nicole Friedman and dietitian Christie Caggiani — driven by a conviction she had developed over years of clinical work: that the most effective care happens when skilled, compassionate professionals work together as a true team. What began as a shared belief became one of Palm Beach County's most respected mental health practices.

With over 20 years of experience, Dr. Shutt brings a depth of clinical knowledge, a deeply warm presence, and a genuine commitment to helping every client find their way to lasting wellness.

Born and raised in Southeast Florida, Dr. Shutt has a deep connection to this community and the people she serves here. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology — with a minor in Gerontology — from the University of Florida, before continuing her post-graduate studies at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale. There she earned both a Master's Degree in Mental Health Counseling in 1994 and her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology in 2000.

Her clinical career has spanned private practice, inpatient treatment centers, outpatient addiction facilities, and community mental health — a breadth of experience that gives her an unusually comprehensive understanding of the full spectrum of mental health care.

An integrative approach — built around the whole person

Dr. Shutt employs a bio-psycho-social approach to treatment — one that addresses the physical, emotional, and situational dimensions of each person's experience simultaneously. Rather than treating symptoms in isolation, she looks at the full picture of a client's life and builds a plan that reflects all of it.

She actively involves her clients in their own treatment — targeting present-day symptoms, behaviors, and conditions while building the insight and skills for long-term change. Her approach is comprehensive, evidence-based, and deeply personal. Clients come to her carrying some of the most complex challenges a person can face — and they leave with a clearer sense of who they are and where they're going.

Clinical expertise

Dr. Shutt is highly qualified in EMDR — Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing — one of the most well-researched and effective treatments for trauma available. She is also trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy through Behavioral Tech, the organization founded by DBT's creator Dr. Marsha Linehan.

Her work is also deeply informed by mindfulness — not as an add-on, but as a thread woven through everything she does. Dr. Shutt has extensive education in mindfulness meditation and brings this practice into her clinical work in ways that are grounded, practical, and meaningful for each individual client. She is also the founder of Sacred Treehouse, a meditation and mindfulness education center in Boca Raton — a reflection of how central this practice is to her own life and her work.