Michele Koenes

Michele Koenes is a licensed clinical social worker who helps people coping with stress, anxiety, grief, depression, and relationship challenges. She draws on 11 years of experience working with adults and older adults in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Michele aims to meet people where they are and move at a pace that feels right for each person.

Her approach is collaborative and responsive. Michele listens closely to a person’s life story and priorities and tailors sessions toward practical steps and clearer choices. She uses everyday language and concrete tools so people can try new ways of handling emotions between sessions.

Michele’s background also includes time as a litigation attorney and as a teacher. Those roles strengthened her skills in clear communication, careful listening, and helping people organize next steps during difficult decisions. She brings that pragmatic focus into therapy while keeping compassion central.

Therapy sessions often focus on building coping skills for anxiety, managing mood shifts, and addressing patterns that undermine relationships or self-worth. Michele also supports people dealing with trauma, addiction concerns, eating and sleeping difficulties, caregiver stress, and life transitions. She works with issues like attachment wounds, abandonment, body image, codependency, and chronic illness challenges.

Michele holds a Master of Social Work and practices under the credentials LMSW and LCSW. She works from Michigan and conducts sessions in English. People who want to begin can use the site’s Start Therapy process to complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule time according to the therapist’s availability.

Therapeutic approaches and online work

Michele commonly draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Attachment-Based Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in her work. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without letting them drive every choice, and it can assist with anxiety, depression, and making values-based changes. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at early relationship patterns and how they affect current trust and connection issues, which can help with attachment wounds and abandonment concerns. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns and replacing them with clearer, more effective strategies for day-to-day coping.

Finding the right approach is usually a collaborative process. Michele will talk with each person about their goals and try different strategies to see what fits. She adapts methods based on individual preferences, symptoms, and the goals people bring to therapy.

If you are considering online therapy, confirm the specific session formats Michele currently offers before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, allow for shorter check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time so people can use therapy during breaks or between obligations. Licensed professionals can still use the approaches above effectively over distance, and Michele will help choose methods and a rhythm of meetings that best fit someone’s daily life.