Michelle is a graduate of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology with a Master’s degree in counseling. She held licensure in the State of Illinois with 10 years’ experience with dual diagnosis treatment and a specialization in addiction. Michelle has worked in nonprofit residential treatment for the majority of her career primarily with a women’s-only population. Michelle’s work focuses on several different areas including serious mental illness, substance abuse, grief/loss, anxiety disorders, depression, post traumatic stress disorder, difficult life transitions and healthy identity development in women for empowerment and relapse prevention. Michelle currently works as a Primary Residential Therapist for Wayside House. Michelle utilizes an integrative therapeutic approach primarily with a cognitive behavioral and dialectical behavioral therapy foundation to identify and challenge unhealthy cognitive and behavioral cycles fostering low self- worth, low self-compassion and difficulty with self-forgiveness. She utilizes a realistic approach to therapy to meet each individual client where they are in the recovery process to promote motivation for healthy change.