About Michelle
Michelle Pennella is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) based in New York with four years of clinical experience. She works with people coping with depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, bipolar symptoms, and other mood concerns. Her manner is calm and direct, focused on practical steps people can use between sessions.
Michelle builds a warm, nonjudgmental space so clients can talk about painful memories and current stress. She helps people name feelings, try small experiments in behavior, and practice new ways of handling pressure.
Background and approach
Sessions aim to reduce overwhelm and increase the sense of control over daily life. Her approach blends several evidence-based methods. Michelle uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people change unhelpful thinking and take committed action.
She also draws on Dialectical Behavior Therapy and mindfulness to teach emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills. People often come for help with life transitions, relationship strain, work burnout, loneliness, or obsessive thoughts. Michelle pays attention to practical barriers and starts with small, manageable goals so progress feels realistic.
She favors collaborative planning and offers tools clients can apply right away. Sessions are offered in English and are available by video, phone, live chat, or text messaging. Michelle uses an approach that adapts to each person's stage of life and current needs, focusing on clear strategies and steady support to help people move forward.
Therapeutic approaches you can use online
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck. It focuses on clarifying personal values and taking small actions that match those values, which can help with anxiety, depression, and life purpose concerns.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy looks at links between thoughts, feelings, and behavior. It uses practical exercises to test unhelpful thoughts and try new behaviors, which is useful for mood disorders, anxiety, and obsessive thinking.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy provides concrete skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. It can be especially helpful for intense emotions, impulsivity, and relationship strain.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with clients about their goals and preferences and then try methods that fit their needs. This collaborative process means plans can change as progress is made and new challenges come up.
Online sessions include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, offering more flexibility for busy schedules. Video is useful for in-depth sessions and skill work, phone calls can be easier when bandwidth is limited, and live chat or text are handy for brief check-ins or between-session support. These options help people fit therapy into work, family, and daily life.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Communication problems
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Emptiness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 4 years
- Licensed
- New York
- Languages
- English