01 · Who Michelle works with

Michelle works with stress, Anxiety, addictions and trauma and abuse

Michelle lists 5 specialisms and 12 further focus areas. 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

What Michelle says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

I am licensed in California with 17 years of professional experience. My previous clients have struggled with a variety of difficulties including stress and anxiety, trauma and abuse, substance use, and parenting issues. I believe that you are the expert of your story and that you have many strengths that will assist you in overcoming things that challenge you. It takes courage to seek out a more fulfilling and happier life and to take the first steps towards a change. I am here to support and empower you in that journey.

I’m a psychotherapist that pulls from different theoretical orientations. I have also been trained in two evidenced based practices that focus on trauma. I enjoy working with my clients by partnering with them and providing them compassion and acceptance. Everyone struggles and everyone can reach great happiness. I have a strength-based approach and hold hope for your resilience and mental well-being.

A couple of initial approaches to therapy: We can do a deep dive into your early childhood and relational experiences, as often times our current struggles are impacted unconsciously by these prior events. AND/OR Equally important is the present, and I do a lot of focus on the “here & now.”

The groundwork will be creating a safe environment, so you are able to be vulnerable. An essential component to therapy is your sense of trust so that you can look at patterns, process emotions, and find clarity.

As your therapist, I will assist you in working through the issues that have you struggling. I work collaboratively with you to explore and clear away the emotional blockages that can create tension and conflict in your life, negatively affecting you and your relationships with others. I believe each person has an innate ability to get unstuck and heal emotional wounds and it is my role to facilitate that process.

Michelle Ferrante, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Michelle works

The 7 approaches Michelle lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Michelle lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Michelle's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Michelle runs a session.

Attachment-Based Therapy

Reads present-day relationship difficulty through the lens of how safety and closeness were learned early on. The therapeutic relationship itself is treated as part of the work, because it is where the pattern tends to show up first.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian

The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.

Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT

Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.

Motivational InterviewingMI

A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.

Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT

Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.

Trauma-Focused TherapyTF-CBT · trauma-informed

CBT adapted for people whose difficulty is rooted in a frightening or overwhelming event. Pacing is the point: safety and stabilisation come first, the memory itself is approached gradually and only when you are ready, and the aim is that recalling it stops hijacking the present.

Internal Family SystemsIFS

Treats the mind as made up of parts - the critic, the one who withdraws, the one that keeps everything running - each of which is trying to protect you. The work is getting to know them rather than overruling them.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

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.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   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.

2. Naming Michelle specifically

   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.

3. If the caseload is full

   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.

4. The first conversation

   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.

5. If the fit is wrong

   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.

05 · Before you commit

4 questions worth asking Michelle

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.

• “You list both Solution-Focused Brief Therapy and Attachment-Based Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

  Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

• “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.

• “With 17 years in, what has changed most in how you work?”

  Long experience is only an advantage if it has been examined. This tends to surface whether it has.

• “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.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LMFT

Licensed in

California

Licence

CA LMFT 48391

Licence number

48391

Licence expires

30 Nov 2027

NPI

1528260577

Years in practice

17

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

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 9 Oct 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.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.