Works with
- Anger
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Depression
How Shawn works
Practical facts
- Credentials
- LMHC
- Licensed in
- Massachusetts
- Years in practice
- 27
- Languages
- English
- Session format
- Online, through our partner platform
About Shawn
Shawn Mcgivern is a licensed mental health counselor with 27 years of experience based in Massachusetts. She uses a collaborative, person-focused approach to help people handle strong emotions and life stressors. Shawn emphasizes practical skills and steady support in sessions.
Shawn often helps people who are dealing with anxiety, depression, grief, trauma and recovery, and anger. She also supports people working through relationship problems, identity questions, and challenges at work.
Background and approach
Many come for help with sleep or eating concerns, low self-esteem, or major life changes. Her methods draw on several evidence-informed approaches including cognitive behavioral techniques, acceptance and commitment ideas, and attachment-focused ways of understanding relationships. Shawn blends these with client-centered listening so each plan fits the individual.
Sessions focus on small, doable steps and clearer communication skills. Shawn pays attention to practical obstacles like perfectionism, procrastination, and imposter feelings. She works with issues tied to adoption and foster care, abandonment, caregiver stress, codependency, and divorce or separation.
Her goal is to help people build more reliable coping skills and better day-to-day functioning. People can expect a calm, respectful space to talk through difficult moments and try new habits. Shawn supports exploration of values, helps people set achievable goals, and practices real-world strategies for emotional regulation and stronger relationships.
What Shawn works with
Everything Shawn lists, in the therapist's own terms. Anger is the reason this directory exists; the rest tells you what usually sits alongside it in Shawn's practice.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Depression
- LGBT
- Family conflicts
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Dependent personality
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Trichotillomania
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches Shawn lists
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Existential Therapy
- Gottman Method
- Imago Relationship Therapy
- Jungian Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Somatic Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Approach-driven care you can access online
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on clarifying what matters most to a person and taking small actions toward those values while learning to live with uncomfortable feelings. It can help with anxiety, depression, chronic stress, and difficulty committing to change. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions interact and teaches concrete strategies to shift unhelpful patterns, which is useful for anxiety, sleeping problems, and mood challenges. Attachment-Based Therapy pays attention to how early relationship patterns affect current difficulties and helps people rebuild safer ways of relating to others, often useful for intimacy and relationship concerns.Finding the right approach is part of therapy. Shawn will talk with each client about goals, preferences, and what feels most useful. Together they decide which methods to try and adjust the plan as progress is made, so the work stays practical and collaborative.
Online sessions include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit varied schedules and needs. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation and skill practice, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited, live chat supports shorter check-ins, and text-based messaging helps with between-session follow-up and reminders. These options make it easier to maintain consistency and get help when life is busy.
Questions people ask about Shawn
What concerns does Shawn commonly address?
Shawn works with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, trauma and recovery, anger, relationship and intimacy issues, identity and LGBT concerns, sleep and eating difficulties, and career or life transitions.
What is Shawn's therapeutic style like?
Her style is collaborative and client-centered, mixing practical skill-building with reflective work to improve coping and communication.
How much experience does Shawn bring?
She has 27 years of clinical experience supporting people through a wide range of emotional and relationship challenges.
What are Shawn's credentials and where is she based?
Shawn holds an MA and practices as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Massachusetts.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can international clients work with Shawn?
International clients are not currently accepted.
What session formats are available?
Shawn offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to suit different needs and schedules.
How does the sign-up process work?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to therapist availability.