Hello! My name is Michele, and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Texas. I have worked in the mental health field for almost 20 years, and have provided counseling in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Counseling can be exciting for some, and scary for others, but it is important that it feels collaborative, and that the client and the counselor are a good fit. My goal is to provide a safe space, free of judgment, where someone can be their authentic self, and they feel heard, and accepted. My world view is that we are all doing our current best with the accumulation of all the knowledge and skills we have learned throughout life, and that we all have tremendous potential for continued growth. We all have areas of difficulty in life, no one has all the answers, every counselor has their own limitations and struggles, but what is exciting is that each of us can always learn new insights and skills, moving forward, making steady progress and finding new balance. Frequently, coping strategies that worked for us in the past, have stopped being helpful, and part of the process of counseling is learning new strategies that may provide different results. When we add new skills to our psychological toolbox, we have more flexibility to respond in new ways to stressful situations. We can self-soothe more effectively, and find space not to react in automatic and unhelpful ways. This is where counseling comes in, to learn more deeply about ourselves, to learn our triggers, and automatic thought processes. Then, armed with that new knowledge, we also learn and practice new ways of managing our stressors. It is rewarding and challenging work, and I am excited and honored to be a part of that process!