About Shawn
Shawn Mcgivern is a licensed mental health counselor with 27 years of experience in Massachusetts. She uses a somatic-informed perspective alongside other practical methods to help people manage stress, anxiety, depression, grief, and relationship challenges. Her approach is plain and direct, focusing on clear steps people can take to feel steadier in daily life.
Shawn works with adults who are navigating identity questions, workplace strain, and major life changes. She also supports people dealing with trauma, eating and sleep difficulties, intimacy concerns, and issues around self‑esteem.
Background and approach
Sessions centre on the person in front of her and what matters most to them right now. In sessions she combines body-aware techniques with cognitive and acceptance-based tools. That means paying attention to how emotions show up in the body while also learning new ways to think and respond.
The work is collaborative and tailored to each individual’s needs and goals. Shawn draws on a range of approaches including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Attachment-Based methods, client-centered care, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. These approaches are used to build coping skills, improve communication, and process difficult memories.
She emphasises practical strategies that people can use between sessions. Clients can expect straightforward conversation, hands-on exercises, and guidance for day-to-day coping. Shawn frames progress as small, steady changes rather than quick fixes.
Her aim is to help people feel more grounded, connected, and able to move forward.
How somatic and talk-based methods work online
Somatic-informed work brings attention to how emotions show up in the body. In online sessions this can mean noticing breathing, posture, tension, or simple movement as a way to understand feelings and reduce overwhelm. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and choose actions that match their values; it is useful for anxiety, stress, and life transitions.Attachment-Based Therapy looks at patterns in close relationships and how those patterns affect current reactions. This approach can help people improve communication and feel more supported in relationships. Shawn will work together with each client to choose and adjust approaches based on the person's needs, goals, and preferences. Finding the right fit is a shared process and may include trying different techniques over time.
Online therapy offers flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text messaging. These options make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life and to continue work between meetings. Many people find the mix of live conversation and text-based check-ins helpful for reinforcing skills and staying connected to the work.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Trichotillomania
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- 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
- Experience
- 27 years
- Licensed
- Massachusetts
- Languages
- English