Dr. Judith (Judy) Hefren, LCSW

Dr. Judith "Judy" Hefren is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who brings six years of clinical experience to her work with individuals and families. She frames counseling as a collaborative process aimed at helping people create change or adapt to changes that have been imposed on them, with the goal of improving overall quality of life.

She holds a designation as an adoption-competent therapist and has a particular interest in supporting adoptive parents, adults who were adopted, and birth mothers. Her clinical training includes Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) work, which she has completed training to use as part of trauma-focused care.

With formal training in both social work and accounting, she is especially prepared to assist families navigating financial stress and the relational strains that can follow. Her areas of focus include stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, parenting, depression, relationship and family challenges, coping with life changes, coaching, and compassion fatigue. She also addresses related concerns such as abandonment, adoption and foster care issues, codependency, communication difficulties, dependent personality patterns, divorce and separation, family of origin problems, forgiveness, guilt and shame, isolation and loneliness, money and financial issues, and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

Her therapeutic approach draws from client-centered therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing, narrative therapy, solution-focused therapy, trauma-focused therapy, and Internal Family Systems, allowing for tailored support based on each person's needs. She often quotes Mr. Rogers - "Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable" - to underscore the belief that talking about feelings can reduce their intensity and the sense of being alone.

Dr. Hefren practices in Florida and provides services in English. She is not currently accepting new clients and does not work with international clients.