About Michele
Michele "Shelly" Virva is a licensed social worker in Michigan with 20 years of professional experience. She centers therapy on the person sitting across from her and treats each person as the expert on their own life. Shelly focuses on practical steps people can take to manage stress and anxiety and to move through difficult life moments.
Shelly works with people facing depression, addiction concerns, trauma and abuse, and the strain of major life changes.
Background and approach
She also helps with attachment questions, caregiver stress, chronic illness and pain, and workplace issues. Her approach aims to build on strengths so clients can take steady, manageable steps forward. In sessions she uses a client-centered stance combined with practical tools from cognitive behavioral and mindfulness approaches.
She also brings motivational interviewing and solution-focused methods when people need help setting goals and finding small wins. That mix helps people change unhelpful patterns and feel more in control day to day. Shelly emphasizes collaboration and clear planning.
She listens for what matters most, then helps craft simple strategies tailored to each situation. Many clients use the work to reduce anxiety, cope with loss, cut down substance use, and handle stress at home or work. People who reach out will find a steady, respectful guide and a focus on realistic steps.
Shelly encourages curiosity about what works and what does not, and she supports clients as they try new approaches and adjust plans along the way.
Practical approaches for online anxiety care
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and following the person's lead. The therapist creates a respectful space where goals come from the client and the work is paced to fit their needs. This approach is useful for people unsure where to begin and who want guidance that respects their own priorities.Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts and behaviors keep problems going. It teaches simple experiments and skills to change patterns linked to anxiety or low mood. Mindfulness therapy adds brief attention practices to help reduce reactivity and improve calm in daily life.
Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work. The therapist will talk about options and make decisions together based on the person's goals and preferences. That collaborative process helps shape a plan that feels doable and relevant.
Online sessions are offered via video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different routines. Video lets people see facial cues for deeper conversation. Phone can be useful when bandwidth is limited or for quick check-ins. Chat and text are helpful for brief updates, homework, or when typing through a feeling is easier. These options make it simpler to keep therapy consistent around work and family obligations.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Also listed
- Attachment issues
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Communication problems
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 20 years
- Licensed
- Michigan
- Languages
- English
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