A therapist who understands what it means to carry it all.
Meet Heather
Hi, I’m Heather Freed, LCSW.
I’m a holistic therapist, former executive, wife, and mom, and I specialize in helping women who are used to carrying a lot at work, at home, and in relationships.
Because of both my clinical training and lived experience, I understand the pressure many women feel to lead, hold it together, care for others, and keep performing no matter how depleted they feel inside. Many of the women I work with are professionals, helpers, mothers, and partners whose strength has quietly become self-neglect.
They are often burned out from over-functioning, tired of people-pleasing, disconnected from their own needs, and longing for more reciprocity, meaning, and ease.
What Brings Women Here?
Many of my clients come to therapy feeling:
Exhausted from carrying too much for too long
Stuck in people-pleasing, perfectionism, or over-responsibility
Resentful in relationships but unsure how to shift the pattern
Emotionally lonely, even when surrounded by people
Anxious, overwhelmed, or dysregulated in their nervous system
Disconnected from their own needs, identity, or sense of purpose
From the outside, they may seem high-functioning. Inside, they often feel like they are barely holding it all together.
My work helps women understand not just what they are feeling, but why these patterns developed and how to begin changing them with compassion and depth.
My Approach
A whole-person approach to healing
I believe healing involves the whole person: mind, body, and spirit.
My approach is holistic, trauma-informed, and deeply personalized. I blend evidence-based therapy with somatic work, parts work, nervous-system regulation, lifestyle support, and a spiritually grounded lens that honors meaning, purpose, inner wisdom, and deeper alignment.
This is not just therapy for symptom relief. It is deeper work that helps you get to the root of burnout, emotional loneliness, resentment, and self-abandonment so you can stop over-carrying and start living in a way that feels more peaceful, boundaried, and true.
Why Work with Me?
My work is especially helpful for women who are ready to stop organizing their lives around pressure and performance and start building a life shaped by peace, power, and purpose.
Women often choose to work with me because they want therapy that feels:
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Not just coping skills, but meaningful healing that gets to the root of long-standing patterns.
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Support that honors emotional, relational, physical, and spiritual well-being.
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A thoughtful, individualized approach rather than one-size-fits-all care.
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A space where you can be fully honest, feel deeply seen, be safely held and begin making real change.
Working Together
I offer virtual therapy for women in Illinois and Missouri.
My practice is best suited for women who are looking for:
Personalized, depth-oriented therapy
Support with burnout, over-functioning, people-pleasing, perfectionism, and relationship strain
A holistic approach that integrates mind, body, and spirit
Care that goes beyond symptom management into lasting transformation
For details about services and fees please visit the Services or FAQ page.
Take the first step.
You do not have to keep being the strong one all the time.
Therapy can be a place where you set down some of what you have been carrying, reconnect with yourself, and begin building a more peaceful, reciprocal, and meaningful life.