Shawn Mcgivern, LMHC
Therapy rooted in personal stories and practical change
Details
| Name | Shawn Mcgivern |
|---|---|
| Credentials | LMHC |
| Based in | Massachusetts |
| Licensed in | Massachusetts |
| Session format | Online |
| Languages | English |
| Years in practice | 27 |
About Shawn
Shawn Mcgivern is a licensed mental health counselor in Massachusetts with 27 years of clinical experience. She combines a narrative outlook with practical therapy methods to help people manage anxiety, depression, relationship tensions, and grief. Shawn aims to make sessions straightforward and focused so concerns are addressed without added complexity.
Shawn centers work on the stories people tell about themselves and their relationships. She helps clients name painful patterns from the past and look at how those stories shape current choices.
Background and approach
That often leads to small changes that feel more manageable than big overhauls. Her toolbox includes Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, cognitive behavioral techniques, attachment-based ideas, and client-centered conversation. Those approaches are used to improve sleep, eating concerns, self-esteem, and daily coping skills.
Shawn also supports people dealing with trauma, abandonment, adoption and foster care issues, and caregiving stress. Sessions focus on clear goals: better communication, greater self-understanding, steadier mood, and practical steps for change. Shawn invites clients to try strategies in between sessions and then review what worked.
The aim is steady progress rather than quick fixes. Parents and professionals often seek Shawn for help with work-related stress, career choices, and the emotional fallout of separation or divorce. She works with people across a range of identities, including LGBT concerns, and respects each person’s experience.
Her style is collaborative, plainspoken, and grounded in long experience.
What this therapist works with
Her listing names Stress, Anxiety, Relationship issues, Trauma and abuse among the things Shawn works with, alongside the areas below.
- 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 listed
- Narrative Therapy: Named in her listing among her approaches.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Listed by Shawn among the ways she works.
- Attachment-Based Therapy: Listed by Shawn among the ways she works.
- Client-Centered Therapy: Listed by Shawn among the ways she works.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Listed by Shawn among the ways she works.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Listed by Shawn among the ways she works.
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT): Listed by Shawn among the ways she works.
- Existential Therapy: Listed by Shawn among the ways she works.
- Gottman Method: Listed by Shawn among the ways she works.
- Imago Relationship Therapy: Listed by Shawn among the ways she works.
- Jungian Therapy: Listed by Shawn among the ways she works.
- Mindfulness Therapy: Listed by Shawn among the ways she works.
- Motivational Interviewing: Listed by Shawn among the ways she works.
- Psychodynamic Therapy: Listed by Shawn among the ways she works.
- Solution-Focused Therapy: Listed by Shawn among the ways she works.
- Somatic Therapy: Listed by Shawn among the ways she works.
- Trauma-Focused Therapy: Listed by Shawn among the ways she works.
- Internal Family Systems: Listed by Shawn among the ways she works.
- Training stated: This directory copies the approaches a therapist names and does not check training records. Ask Shawn directly how much of the work is narrative and what a session usually looks like.
Narrative Therapy in this listing
Narrative Therapy appears in this therapist's own list of approaches. That tells you it is part of how she works. It does not tell you how much of a session it shapes, and this directory does not check or rate training.
If a narrative approach is what you are looking for, it is worth asking Shawn directly how she uses it and what a session usually looks like.
Online session options
Using Narrative and Practical Therapies Online
Shawn combines Narrative Therapy with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and attachment-informed work to guide online sessions. Narrative Therapy focuses on the stories people tell about themselves and looks for alternative storylines that allow different choices. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify values and take small committed steps even when difficult thoughts or feelings are present. Attachment-based ideas look at how early relationships influence current patterns and help people learn new ways of relating.Choosing the right approach is part of the work. Shawn will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what feels most useful. Together they will try methods and adjust the plan based on what helps in everyday life, keeping the process collaborative and practical.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to increase flexibility. Video is useful for face-to-face conversation and nonverbal cues, phone can be a lower-bandwidth option, live chat suits brief check-ins, and messaging supports ongoing reflection between sessions. These formats make it easier to fit therapy into work, caregiving, or travel schedules while still focusing on meaningful change.
Common questions about this listing
What kinds of issues does Shawn address?
She provides help for stress, anxiety, depression, grief, trauma and abuse, relationship and intimacy-related issues, eating and sleeping problems, parenting strain, anger, self-esteem, career concerns, and coping with life changes.
What is Shawn's therapeutic style like?
Her style is collaborative and client-centered, using narrative work alongside ACT, CBT, and attachment-informed ideas to make therapy practical and understandable.
How much experience does she have?
Shawn has 27 years of experience working with a wide range of emotional and relationship concerns.
Where is Shawn licensed and based?
She is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) practicing in Massachusetts.
Which languages are supported in sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available?
Therapy can be done via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs.
How are sessions billed?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with Shawn?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, completing a short matching questionnaire, and scheduling sessions according to therapist availability.
Contacting this therapist
Sessions with Shawn are arranged through our partner platform. It asks a few questions about what you are looking for, then shows you the therapists available to you, including Shawn where she has space. Ask about fees, and whether she holds a licence or registration where you live.
Or see other therapists in Massachusetts »
This is a partner link. We will earn a commission if you sign up through it, at no cost to you. It does not change what you pay or the order of the listings.
Other listings in Massachusetts
- Ivanilda Silva, LICSW - Massachusetts
- Kimberley Haley, LMHC - Massachusetts
- Cynthia Robinson, LMHC - Massachusetts
- Jacques-Paul Barbour, LMHC - Massachusetts
- All therapists for stress, anxiety »