About Heather
Heather Shaver is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 20 years of experience helping people manage stress, anxiety, trauma and grief. She works with concerns such as depression, addictions, relationship and family struggles, eating and sleeping problems, low self-esteem, and coping with life changes. Heather aims to make sessions straightforward and practical so clients can start feeling steadier faster.
Heather trained in psychology and social work and began her career as a victim advocate for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Background and approach
That early work shaped how she supports people during crisis and through recovery. Over the years she has worked in residential substance abuse care, hospice, home health, juvenile justice settings, and independent practice. Currently she serves as a Director of Mental Health Services working with chronically ill adults.
Her background gives her a broad view of medical, behavioral, and practical needs that often overlap in real life. She uses that perspective to help people find realistic next steps. In sessions Heather starts where the person is.
She focuses on building trust and a working relationship first. From there she uses straightforward tools aimed at goals the person cares about, such as reducing panic, improving sleep, or managing cravings. Her approach draws from methods like cognitive behavioral work, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, solution-focused strategies, and trauma-focused therapy.
Heather supports people who want direct talk, practical skills, and a clear plan to handle everyday challenges.
Approaches you can use in online sessions
Heather commonly draws on cognitive behavioral strategies and mindfulness in online work. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and trying new behaviors to reduce anxiety, depression, or sleep and eating problems. Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple awareness practices to calm the body and notice stress without reacting, which can help with panic, grief, or compassion fatigue.Heather also uses Motivational Interviewing to help people clarify their goals and find internal reasons to change. That approach is useful when facing addictions, ambivalence about change, or making shifts in relationships and career. Together the therapist and client decide which methods fit best, and they adjust the plan as needs evolve in a collaborative way.
Online sessions offer flexibility that many people need. Video calls let for face-to-face conversation and working through exercises together. Phone sessions are a good option when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging support quick reflections, ongoing coaching, or more frequent brief contact between sessions. These formats make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life while using the same therapeutic approaches as in-person work.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Addictions
- Career difficulties
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Forgiveness
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Phobias
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sleeping disorders
- Women's issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 20 years
- Licensed
- Florida
- Languages
- English