About Michelle
Michelle Pennella is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor practicing in New York. She has four years of experience helping people facing anxiety, depression, trauma and grief. She aims to create a calm, accepting space where people can name hard feelings and try new ways of coping.
Michelle focuses on practical skills and steady progress. She listens first, then works with each person to set small, doable goals. Sessions include strategies to manage intrusive thoughts, mood swings, and stress that interfere with daily life.
Background and approach
Her work often centers on building self-awareness and a clearer sense of purpose. Michelle combines mindfulness and structured techniques to reduce anxiety and ease depressive patterns. She supports people through life transitions and the fallout from past hurts.
Her approach is collaborative and straightforward. Michelle teaches tools for emotion regulation, communication, and problem-solving so people can use them between sessions. She also helps clients notice patterns that keep them stuck and try different responses.
People who prefer a warm, practical therapist tend to connect with her style. Michelle aims to help clients move from feeling overwhelmed to feeling more in control. She encourages steady steps and real-world changes over time.
How Michelle’s approaches translate to online work
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting pulled into them. It focuses on identifying values and taking small steps toward a meaningful life, which can reduce avoidance and anxiety. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at the link between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and teaches practical tools to change unhelpful patterns. CBT is often used for anxiety, depression, and obsessive thinking. Mindfulness Therapy teaches attention and grounding practices that reduce reactivity and help people stay present during stressful moments.Finding the right approach is part of the work. Michelle collaborates with each person to choose or combine methods based on their goals and preferences. Together they try strategies, check what helps, and adjust the plan over time so therapy stays relevant and useful.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for deeper conversations and skill practice. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is low or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging offer day-to-day support and quick reminders of techniques between sessions. These options make scheduling more flexible and can help therapy fit into busy lives.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- 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
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