- Years in practice
- 27
- Credentials
- LMHC
- Licensed in
- Massachusetts
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Relationship issues
- Focus
- Trauma and abuse
About Shawn
Shawn Mcgivern is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Massachusetts with 27 years of clinical experience. She focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, depression, and relationship or intimacy concerns. Shawn also supports people facing parenting questions, grief, trauma and eating or sleeping struggles.
Her approach is practical and person-focused, aimed at everyday improvements rather than quick fixes. Shawn uses straightforward conversation and active listening to understand what matters most to each person.
Background and approach
She draws on therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people notice patterns and try manageable changes. Sessions often include skills practice, simple experiments, and tracking small steps forward. Many clients work on communication, confidence, and setting boundaries at home and work.
Shawn helps people facing abandonment or attachment issues, body image and eating concerns, caregiver stress, and the fallout from divorce or separation. She also addresses commitment and control worries that can erode close relationships. Shawn aims for a collaborative style.
She helps people identify goals, then tailors tools and exercises to fit daily life. The work can include coaching-style check-ins alongside deeper emotional processing. Her practice supports people exploring identity, LGBT concerns, career transitions, and coping with life changes.
Sessions are offered in English and available by several online formats to fit different schedules and needs.
What Shawn works with
Everything Shawn lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Shawn helps people with.
- 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.
Therapeutic approaches and online support
Shawn often blends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in online work. CBT helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and try new behaviors to reduce anxiety and depression. ACT focuses on values and small committed steps, useful for parenting stress, grief, and persistent worry.She emphasizes attachment ideas as well, helping people understand patterns in close relationships and how those patterns affect communication and boundaries. These approaches are presented in plain language, with exercises and check-ins that connect to daily life and parenting roles.
Choosing the right approach is part of the process. Shawn works collaboratively to match techniques to each person's goals and preferences. She may combine skills training, reflective conversation, and brief behavioral experiments so the plan fits what a person actually wants to change.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for longer sessions and work that benefits from seeing expressions and body language. Phone calls can be easier when bandwidth is limited or for a shorter check-in. Live chat and text messaging suit brief updates, coaching-style check-ins, or quick skills reminders between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy days and varied routines.
Questions people ask about Shawn
What issues does Shawn commonly address?
Shawn works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, grief, relationship and intimacy concerns, parenting challenges, eating and sleeping issues, anger, self-esteem, career worries, and coping with life changes.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her style is collaborative and empathetic, combining talk with practical skills. She uses evidence-informed methods and focuses on real-world changes people can try between sessions.
How much experience does she have?
Shawn has 27 years of clinical experience working with a wide range of emotional and relational concerns.
Where is Shawn licensed and practicing?
She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) practicing in Massachusetts.
Which languages are used in sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available?
Shawn offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different schedules and preferences.
How are fees handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with Shawn?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button and completing a brief matching questionnaire, then schedule sessions according to therapist availability.
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