Practitioner record · Checked 7 Nov 2026
Michelle Castellani has been in practice 12 years and is licensed in New Jersey. Michelle lists stress, Anxiety, family conflicts and grief among 16 subjects on the BetterHelp roster.
Everything below is either quoted from Michelle's own BetterHelp listing, taken from public licensing records, or written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such. Nothing here is an availability promise, a review, or a rating.
01 · Who Michelle works with
Michelle lists 16 specialisms. Specialisms are the subjects Michelle chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.
02 · In Michelle's own words
Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.
I am an MSW,LCSW that has spent most of my career in the healthcare field. In that setting I have learned a lot of crisis intervention skills and adjustment problem coping skills as people generally go through a period of crisis while trying to adjust to a new illness and all that can go along with that. I have also been in private practice since 2007 and the bulk of my patients suffer with anxiety disorders (panic attacks, social anxiety, phobias, etc.); Depression/Bipolar disorder; Eating disorders; Relationship struggles; Anger, OCD and couples counseling.
I have a Masters in Social Work and a clinical license in Social Work which allows me to be in private practice. I also have gone through a lot of training on Mindfulness (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course) where I have learned how to practice mindfulness and meditation to name a few. It is a very powerful coping tool but not everyone is open to it. Therefore I am use CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) along with a Strengths Perspective. Using the CBT allows us to understand how our thoughts affect how we feel and then how we behave, which can also be enlightening. The Strengths Perspective gets us in touch with a person's strengths, because regardless of what we are dealing with we all have strengths and using them to build upon in the spirit of solving the problem @ hand. Sometimes we arent even aware of the skills we already have or how to use them to help ourselves in our current state. My approach can also be a combination of what is listed above but the most important way to help someone is to listen and then be able to understand/diagnose the problem clearly because we cant solve a problem without knowing what it truly is.
I believe we all have the ability to embrace change when we are ready and truly enjoy helping people along that journey!
Michelle Castellani, on the BetterHelp listing · read 7 Nov 2026
03 · What happens next
Michelle practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Michelle's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.
BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Michelle at this point.
BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Michelle is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Michelle.
You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.
A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.
Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.
04 · Before you commit
Built from what Michelle actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Michelle's - Michelle has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.
“How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”
Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.
“How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”
On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.
05 · Practical details
06 · Provenance
Michelle's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 7 Nov 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.
The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.
Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Michelle. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.
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