- Years in practice
- 25
- Credentials
- LCSW
- Licensed in
- North Carolina, Virginia
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Grief
- Focus
- Self esteem
- Focus
- Career difficulties
About Freda
Dr. Freda Shipman is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 25 years of experience helping people through difficult life passages. She focuses on practical support for stress, anxiety, grief, relationship struggles, and parenting concerns.
Her style is warm and straightforward, geared toward people who want clear steps and steady support. She combines a person-centered stance with goal-focused techniques. In sessions she listens first, then helps clients set small, manageable goals.
Background and approach
That approach can help when life feels overwhelming or when a parent needs better ways to cope and communicate. Dr. Shipman has worked in settings that address aging and geriatric issues, cancer and hospice concerns, caregiver stress, and special needs planning.
She also brings experience with career transitions, financial strain, and divorce and separation. Those backgrounds inform how she helps people manage big changes and plan next steps. Her methods include cognitive behavioral ideas for changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, motivational interviewing to clarify goals, and solution-focused steps to build on what already works.
She also uses Internal Family Systems concepts to look at inner parts that can affect decisions and relationships. Sessions are offered in English from Virginia and use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time. People can expect a collaborative, respectful relationship where practical problems get turned into workable plans.
What Freda works with
Everything Freda lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Freda helps people with.
- Grief
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Communication problems
- Divorce and separation
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Intellectual disability
- Life purpose
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Money and financial issues
- Self-love
- Visually impaired
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches Freda lists
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Motivational Interviewing
- Solution-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.
Therapy approaches that fit your life online
Client-centered therapy focuses on the person first. The therapist listens without judgment and follows the client's concerns to help them find their own answers. This approach works well for people who need a supportive, respectful space to talk through parenting stress or life changes.Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors connect. It gives practical tools to change patterns that increase anxiety or interfere with relationships. CBT is often used for stress, worry, and habit changes that get in the way of daily life.
Motivational interviewing helps clarify what matters to a person and builds readiness to change. It can be useful when someone is juggling career shifts, financial stress, or caregiving responsibilities and needs to set realistic priorities.
Dr. Shipman treats the choice of approach as a team effort. She will discuss options, try different techniques, and adjust plans based on goals and what feels most helpful. That collaborative process helps shape sessions that fit each person's needs.
Online sessions offer flexibility with video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video lets people see facial cues and do deeper conversations. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or for a quick check-in. Live chat and messaging are useful for short updates, coaching-style prompts, or when typing feels simpler. These options make it easier to schedule therapy around work, caregiving, and busy family life.
Questions people ask about Freda
What issues does Dr. Shipman help address?
She helps people with grief, stress, anxiety, relationship and family concerns, parenting challenges, anger, career and life changes, and related areas such as caregiver stress and end-of-life planning.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her approach is warm, collaborative, and practical. She listens first and then works with people to set small, achievable goals.
What kind of experience does she bring?
She has 25 years of clinical experience across settings that include aging and geriatric care, oncology and hospice concerns, caregiver support, and special needs planning.
Where is Dr. Shipman licensed and based?
Dr. Shipman is an LCSW licensed in North Carolina and Virginia and practices from Virginia.
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people from other countries work with her?
International clients are not currently accepted; she works with people based in the supported region.
What formats are available for sessions?
Sessions may be conducted by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to offer different levels of convenience and contact.
How is cost handled and how do I get started?
Cost varies with location and scheduling and uses a subscription that can be canceled at any time. To begin, select the Start Therapy button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.
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