About Michelle
Michelle Wendel is a licensed marriage and family therapist who helps people manage anxiety, stress, parenting pressure, and career concerns. She greets clients with a calm, straightforward style and focuses on practical steps that can be used between sessions. Michelle practices in California and offers services in English; she also works with international clients.
Her approach is flexible and based on evidence-based methods. She mixes Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with client-centered conversation and cognitive behavioral techniques.
Background and approach
That means she helps people notice unhelpful thoughts, try small behavior changes, and clarify what matters most to them. Michelle has ten years of clinical experience. She uses that background to tailor sessions to each person’s situation, whether the issue is coping with life changes, grief after a separation, workplace stress, or self-esteem concerns.
Sessions are presented in a way that focuses on real-life problems and clear, measurable next steps. In the room she listens first and then helps build practical tools. She supports people working through codependency, communication problems, forgiveness, and feelings of guilt and shame.
She also addresses life stages like pregnancy and childbirth, midlife shifts, and aging concerns. Therapy with Michelle often combines short-term skill practice with longer-term values work. Clients can expect straightforward discussion, guided exercises, and a plan for what to try between meetings.
Her goal is to help people develop coping skills that fit day-to-day life.
How her approaches work online
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, then take steps that align with their values. It can be helpful for anxiety, stress, and big life transitions. Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and building trust so people can explore their own solutions with support from the therapist. It is useful when someone needs a nonjudgmental space to sort feelings. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at patterns of thought and behavior and teaches practical skills to change them, which often helps with anxiety and workplace stress.Michelle treats finding the right approach as a shared process. She will talk with each person about what feels most useful, try techniques during sessions, and adjust based on what helps. The goal is to pick strategies that match a person’s needs, goals, and preferences rather than forcing a single method.
Online therapy offers practical benefits for people with busy lives. Video calls let you see facial cues and work through exercises face to face. Phone sessions can be used when bandwidth is limited or you prefer not to be on camera. Live chat and text-based messaging give quick check-ins and ongoing support between longer sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into workdays, childcare routines, or travel schedules.
Questions people ask
What kinds of concerns does Michelle address?
How would you describe her therapy style?
What is her clinical background?
Where is she based and what credentials does she hold?
Can sessions be conducted in other languages or internationally?
What session formats are available?
How is payment handled and what does it cost?
How do I begin working with her?
What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem
Also listed
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 10 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.