Frances Higgins, LICSW

Frances Higgins is a licensed clinical social worker with three decades of experience helping people manage major life stresses. She listens carefully and works together with each person to decide what will help most. Her style is direct and practical, aimed at steady progress rather than quick fixes.

Frances uses a client-centered approach that makes room for a person's strengths and priorities. She pairs that with cognitive behavioral techniques to spot unhelpful thinking and try small behavior changes. For people who have struggled with intense emotions, she draws on elements of dialectical work to teach skills for coping and regulation.

She has long experience supporting survivors of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse and brings trauma-informed ideas into sessions. That means noticing how past hurts affect day-to-day life and helping clients build tools to reduce symptoms and regain control. Frances also addresses relationship and intimacy concerns in ways that focus on communication and safety.

Frances works with a broad range of concerns including anxiety, depression, addiction, parenting strain, grief, ADHD, and compassion fatigue. She also supports people dealing with adoption and foster care matters, attachment issues, autism and Asperger Syndrome, blended family dynamics, and related problems such as codependency and communication breakdowns.

People who prefer practical steps and a collaborative therapist often find her approach helpful. Frances sees work as a partnership: she offers clear options, checks in about what is useful, and adjusts the plan as needed.

How Frances's Approaches Translate to Online Work

Frances often uses client-centered work and cognitive behavioral techniques in her practice. Client-centered therapy focuses on listening, reflecting, and shaping goals that matter to the person. It helps when someone wants a therapist who follows their lead and supports their choices. Cognitive behavioral work looks at patterns of thought and behavior and helps people test new ways of thinking and acting to reduce anxiety or depression.

She also draws on attachment-based ideas when relationship history affects current difficulties. Those methods look at how early bonds shape expectations and teach new ways of relating and communicating. Choosing a therapeutic approach is a shared process; Frances discusses goals and preferences and helps decide which methods to try first. She checks in on progress and changes the plan when needed so the work stays useful.

The biography does not list specific online session formats, so please confirm available options before booking. Many people find online sessions helpful because they fit more easily into daily life, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when schedules are tight. Others appreciate being able to meet from different locations or to continue therapy while traveling. Frances aims to make therapy practical and adaptable to a person's routine.