Create Awareness Therapy Studio

"In over 40 sessions together, I found Michelle to be deeply knowledgable, compassionate, engaged, and helpful. Her eclectic background and training in the AEDP method allow for a heightened somatic awareness and processing of inner truths. Michelle's ability to hold space and grounding during difficult moments offers a deeper integration of emotional experiences in a way that I have never before experienced in a mental health setting. I have worked with a number of therapists in the past, with some satisfaction, and truly felt that I found what I had been looking for when I started seeing Michelle. I can earnestly say that our work together was life changing. As Michelle masterfully guided me through difficult psychic terrain, she simultaneously showed immense care, connection, and insight. She is flexible, yet guided; warm and wise. For those who are seeking a body-centered, creative approach to foundational inner healing, Michelle is simply fantastic."

"I sought Michelle's help after being referred to her by another counselor when I enquired about AEDP therapy. Michele lists AEDP and trauma and loss work among her specialties. In the beginning, I enjoyed the work with Michelle as we moved toward doing EMDR. Michelle assessed that because of the nature of the work we needed to do, we would need 90 minute sessions and their became our norm. Every now and again she would say something that didn't quite track or seemed strange but I believed in her wish to help me. Together, we did IFS work and Focusing. I was seeing great benefit from these and felt myself healing, telling my friends and family that the experience was magical. Michele helped me apply for Medicaid to pay for the sessions and was delighted when I received notice that they had taken effect in August (a few months prior) Michelle assured me that the sessions I had paid for out of pocket would be covered and I would be refunded the money I had spent. In November, Michelle informed me that due to the zoning (something about being approved in the state but not in the city) of care that my previous sessions would now not be paid for and that I would receive no retroactive reimbursement. As you imagine, I was fairly upset as this was near five hundred dollars. Michele told me that her ethics forced her into paying the money to me out of her pocket and that she would keep me updated on the situation with the state as she protested their decision. No mention of this was ever made again in our sessions. A few weeks after this, I began to notice a lack of presence in Michelle during our sessions. We seemed to have lost direction therapeutically and one day in January, I came in and she asked me what I wanted to do. I had always been curious about the sandtray therapy in the corner of her room and so I selected that. This ended up being a mistake on my part as something to do with my trauma bubbled up and we didn’t have time to finished the work, leaving me emotionally stranded. The next session, I brought this issue up (saying that I felt there was no plan behind our therapy, that we were not practicing AEDP and that she was no longer present in our sessions) with Michele and was quite shocked when she responded defensively turning the problem around on me and ending our session in a very upsetting place. I left the office and called Michelle to let her know that I felt suicidal and I needed resources. She invited me back to the office and told me she had “failed me” and she was sorry. We scheduled another session that week. After her erratic behavior, I felt afraid to see Michelle again but trusted her and came to the session. Michelle’s demeanor had changed drastically and I was informed that we would not be doing AEDP any longer, that she was shortening our sessions to fifty minutes and they would be focused not on trauma or loss but on life skills. I left the session very upset after telling her that something must have happened and that she was unrecognizable as my therapist. I received no text the next week and was relieved to take a week off. We communicated over email and the questions I asked Michelle concerning her demeanor went unanswered. In February, I decided to give Michelle another chance and we spoke by phone. I was informed none of my questions would be answered, that she would be controlling the sessions and would only answer the question “Did I want to continue therapy?” When I refused to answer this question, she terminated therapy over the phone. Michelle gets two stars because she did help me for a time. The IFS and Focusing were very helpful. I do not know why what happened in our sessions occurred or what changed her demeanor but I do know that it doesn't speak well of her or her therapy to say that she got involved in a power battle with a client, let her ego interfere with her professionalism and did not practice what she advertised, in this case AEDP and trauma and loss work. I would never recommend Michelle as a therapist and find her professional claims to be fraudulent. Clients beware."