Michelle Farias, LPC

Michelle Farias is a licensed professional counselor with 25 years of experience. She helps people who are struggling with stress and anxiety, and she also supports those facing grief, trauma, parenting concerns, and LGBTQ issues. Michelle aims to make first steps clear and manageable for people who feel overwhelmed.

Her approach is straightforward and practical. She draws on client-centered work to follow what matters most to each person. She also uses cognitive behavioral therapy to identify unhelpful thinking patterns and mindfulness techniques to build present-moment coping skills.

Sessions are paced to match the client’s needs. Michelle offers a mix of short-term problem solving and longer work on patterns that keep problems returning. She often sets simple, actionable goals and checks progress each week so people can see small gains add up.

Michelle notices the whole picture around a person's stress - work demands, caregiving roles, and life transitions like midlife changes or grief. She pays attention to panic symptoms and social anxiety and helps people find ways to handle those moments when they happen.

People who choose her can expect a calm, respectful space to talk. Michelle encourages honesty about what is and isn’t working and adjusts her methods to fit individual goals. To start, clients complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule sessions based on availability.

How her approaches translate to online therapy

Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and following what matters most to the person. Online sessions aim to create that same attentive space so the client sets the pace and topics for each meeting. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps identify thoughts and behaviors that keep stress or anxiety going, and online sessions can use worksheets and short practice tasks between meetings to build new habits.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with each client about goals, preferences, and what feels useful. Together they decide whether to emphasize CBT work, mindfulness skills, or a mix of approaches based on what helps in daily life.

Confirm current session options before booking, since formats were not specified in the biography. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow quick check-ins when progress needs reviewing. Some methods translate well to brief, focused sessions while others benefit from slightly longer visits; the therapist will help choose the session length and rhythm that fit a client's schedule and needs.