About Frances
Frances Higgins is a licensed independent clinical social worker with 30 years of experience helping people manage stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, and other life challenges. She practices from Massachusetts and brings a steady, practical approach to sessions. Her style is conversational and focused on what works for each person.
She begins by listening and then deciding together which methods to use. Sessions are collaborative and goal oriented. Frances blends client-centered work with cognitive tools and emotion-focused strategies to address day-to-day struggles and deeper patterns.
How Frances works
When trauma or abuse is part of the picture she uses trauma-informed ideas to reduce symptoms and support healing. She pays attention to safety, pacing, and stabilizing skills so people feel able to manage strong reactions between visits. That makes it easier to take steps toward change.
Frances also helps people with relationship challenges, parenting stress, intimate concerns, addiction-related issues, and grief. She draws on attachment-based thinking to understand how patterns in close relationships affect current life. Practical skills from dialectical behavior work and cognitive behavioral ideas are used when emotional regulation or behavior change is a goal.
Sessions can be scheduled by following the Start Therapy steps on the site. People may find her approach useful when they want clear direction, steady support, and tools they can use outside of sessions.
Frances lists 5 ways of working on the entry:
What Frances works with
The areas below are the ones Frances selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
Also listed
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Eating disorders
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Jealousy
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Trauma and abuse
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | LICSW |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 30 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | Massachusetts |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
How Frances' approaches translate to online work
Attachment-based work focuses on how early relationships shape current patterns. Online sessions use conversation and guided reflection to identify those patterns and try new ways of relating that reduce conflict and improve closeness. Client-centered therapy puts the persons priorities first and emphasizes listening and empathic support to help people name their goals and feel heard. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) teaches practical skills to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, such as short exercises for anxiety, mood tracking, and step-by-step behavior changes.Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the process. The therapist will collaborate with the client to decide what fits best based on goals, current struggles, and personal preferences. That means trying methods, adjusting as needed, and focusing on skills that feel useful in daily life.
Online formats offered include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is well suited for in-depth conversations and skill practice, phone sessions work when bandwidth is limited, and messaging or live chat can be used for brief check-ins, homework, or when someone needs flexible timing. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, caregiving, or busy schedules while keeping the work focused and practical.
Start online instead of waiting
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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