Kristen Shepherd
Compassionate social worker guiding practical change
- Credentials
- LMSW
- Experience
- 15 years
- Licensed in
- Michigan
- Languages
- English
- Format
- Online sessions
About Kristen
Kristen Shepherd is a licensed social worker with 15 years of experience. She earned her Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan School of Social Work and has spent much of her career helping people navigate stress, anxiety, depression, and major life shifts. Kristen emphasizes building a trusting relationship as the foundation for change.
She previously worked for a decade in high-needs school settings and later moved into one-on-one and couples work.
Background and approach
In sessions she focuses on clear communication, improving intimacy for couples, and practical skills for managing mood and behavior. Kristen adapts her methods to each person rather than using a one-size-fits-all plan. Trauma-focused care is a key part of her approach.
She helps clients identify past wounds that keep them stuck and supports steps toward healing. That can include working on attachment patterns, changing unhelpful thoughts, or learning new ways to express needs. Kristen uses techniques from evidence-informed approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy and emotionally-focused work.
She also draws on attachment-based thinking and motivational interviewing to help people set and meet goals. The result is a collaborative style that balances listening with practical tools. Kristen practices in Michigan and offers services geared toward stress, relationships, parenting concerns, mood disorders, and a broad range of related issues.
She meets people where they are and helps them identify small changes that lead to better day-to-day functioning.
How Kristen's Approaches Work Online
Attachment-based work looks at how early relationships shape current patterns. It helps people notice repeating dynamics and try new ways of connecting or setting boundaries. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on the link between thoughts, feelings, and actions and gives concrete skills to change unhelpful patterns and manage mood or anxiety.Choosing a therapeutic approach is part of the work together. Kristen will talk with each person about goals and preferences and recommend techniques that fit those needs. Clients and the therapist decide together which methods to try and adjust as progress is made.
Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy more convenient. These formats let people fit sessions around work, school, caregiving, or travel and provide quicker ways to check in between live meetings. The range of options supports steady progress while keeping therapy accessible for different schedules and needs.
Attachment-Based Therapy
Looks at how early bonds shaped what you expect from closeness, and how that plays out now with a partner, a parent, or your own children.
Client-Centered Therapy
The direction comes from you rather than from a set programme. The therapist offers a warm, non-judgemental space to think out loud and work at your own pace. Online, this rests on the relationship rather than on being in the same room.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT looks at the link between what you think, how you feel, and what you do. You work on noticing unhelpful patterns and practising steadier responses. It suits online sessions well, because much of the work happens between appointments and can be talked through from anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Commitment issues
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trichotillomania
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 15 years
- Licensed
- Michigan
- Languages
- English
Next step
Talk to Kristen
- Takes a few minutes
- Nothing to set up just to look
- Stop at any point