Heather Murphy

Heather Murphy is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 13 years of practice. She helps people facing anxiety, depression, stress, grief, relationship strain, eating and food-related issues, and questions about parenting or career direction. Her tone is warm and straightforward, and she aims to make the first step feel doable for people who are worried or overwhelmed.

Heather trained with a Master of Social Work from Simmons College and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art Therapy from Emmanuel College. She has worked across a range of mental health settings and has experience supporting adolescents, adults, and individuals connected to family concerns. That variety informs how she tailors care to each person she meets.

Her counseling style is interactive and human-centered. Heather uses kindness, humor, and creativity alongside direct skills work. She draws on client-centered therapy, cognitive behavioral tools, acceptance and commitment ideas, dialectical behavior strategies, and mindfulness practices depending on a person's needs.

In sessions she focuses on practical skills and on helping people notice what matters most to them. This can include building coping tools, improving communication, working on body image or eating concerns, and managing overwhelming emotions. Heather aims to help people find actions that match their values.

She invites questions and works collaboratively to set goals. The emphasis is on steady progress and on giving people concrete tools to use between meetings. Heather presents therapy as a partnership where the client's priorities guide the work.

Approaches that guide online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, then choose actions that match their values. It can be useful for anxiety, low motivation, and life transitions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on spotting unhelpful thinking patterns and testing them through practical experiments and behavioral changes, which often helps with anxiety and depression. Mindfulness Therapy practices simple attention and breathing techniques to reduce reactivity and build emotional balance.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Heather collaborates with each person to decide which methods fit their goals and preferences. She adapts techniques over time, combining skills-based work with reflective conversation so the plan matches what a person wants to accomplish.

Confirm current session formats before booking to know what online options are offered. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life by removing travel time and allowing shorter check-ins when needed. It also lets people use tools like worksheets, guided exercises, and mindfulness practices between meetings to reinforce progress without promising any specific format.