About
About Awaken Mental Wellness
Awaken Mental Wellness is built on the belief that each of us has a natural ability to heal and grow. However, sometimes we get stuck and need help to rouse, or awaken, our natural abilities. The therapeutic relationship is a profound experience that allows us to be seen as a whole person. It's a beautiful process that enhances our confidence in moving past the shame, doubt, fear, and negative self-talk that too often holds us back from living fully.
Expertise
Michelle is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) in West Virginia. She specializes in treating trauma in adults. Her approach is highly person-centered and humanistic. She completed training in Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in 2019, and has provided EMDR exclusively online since March 2020. She regularly participates in ongoing training and consultation to enhance her expertise. She often integrates aspects of somatic, polyvagal, ego states, and other experiential theories.
Special interest areas include: Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA), intergenerational trauma, disenfranchised grief, and marginalized lifestyles and identities (entrepreneurs/small business owners, LGBTQ+, secularism, childlessness).
Education & Experience
Michelle started her career as a helping professional in 2001, while also working to earn an undergraduate degree in psychology at Fairmont State University in 2005, followed by a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree at West Virginia University in 2009.
She served in a variety of non-profit roles before advancing to a clinical therapist in 2013.
Michelle has assisted children, teens, adults, and families improve their mental health through evidence-based treatments, including Motivational Interviewing (MI), Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). She has extensive experience working with persons in long-term recovery from substance use disorders.
About Michelle
Michelle has lived in these hills for 30+ years and calls the Mountain State home. She enjoys live music, local food, caring for her home and animals, kayaking, creative projects, gardening, and travel. She can be quite witty and chatty, and seemingly knows a little bit about a lot of things.