The Toon midfielder won’t play again until September 10 after picking up a three-game ban for his red card for standing on Dele Alli’s ankle during Sunday’s 2-0 defeat against Tottenham.
Boss Benitez has yet to decide whether to fine Shelvey for his petulance after criticising following the game.
But he has given the player his backing as he deals with his anger issues.
Shelvey sought professional help during the summer and Benitez will encourage him to carry on seeing a psychologist after this latest incident.
Speaking before the sending off, Shelvey said: “Sometimes, I just need to rein it in on the football pitch.
“I need to shut up, not get involved and walk away.
“I started to see a psychologist last year to work on the mental side of things. It was after the Forest game. I was sent off. I had kicked out at this lad and it was just childish.
“When people wind me up, I should just laugh. I do need to get that out of me. Sometimes you can’t help it.
“I started to work with this fella and after that, there wasn’t really an incident when I did that. I started to learn to keep my head down and just get on with the game.
"But it’s an ongoing process and I am still working with him.”
Shelvey apologised in the dressing room after his team-mates were forced to play for more than 40 minutes with 10 men and the players are willing to draw a line under the episode.
“We are a team, players make mistakes during the season, Jonjo made one but there will be others as well,” said team-mate Isaac Hayden.
“Jonjo has been a massive part of the turnaround at this club. He’s made a mistake but we can’t dwell on it.
“Everyone is a human being. It’s about learning from mistakes like that and coming back stronger.”
It was a miserable start to the campaign for Benitez.
Shelvey won’t be available until after the international break, defender Paul Dummett is sidelined for a fortnight while the manager faces an anxious wait to find out the extent of debutant Florian Lejeune’s ankle injury.
To complete a hugely frustrating afternoon for the Spaniard, Toon owner Mike Ashley snubbed the chance the meet Benitez at St James’ Park.
It’s inaccurate to suggest their relationship is strained because they do not have one.
The pair have met only a handful of times and although Ashley was happy to be interviewed by Sky at the weekend, he has not spoken to Benitez since May.
The Newcastle boss has made it clear he is unhappy at the lack of backing from the sports magnate though the storm clouds gathering over the club lifted slightly yesterday with the club agreeing a £5m deal to sign Stoke striker Joselu.
And he could be followed by Chelsea’s Kenedy with Benitez confident of sealing a season-long loan for the Brazilian. Both could be in the squad for Sunday’s trip to Huddersfield.
By his own admission, the Magpies manager is having to work his way down his list of targets having missed out on his first choices.
Joselu represents a major gamble with the 27-year-old having struggled for goals at Stoke two years ago and during his loan spell at Deportivo La Coruna last term.
The Spaniard first caught Benitez’s eye when he scored 40 goals for Real Madrid’s B team and the Toon boss believes he can offer the Magpies a physical presence missing against Spurs.
