About Michelle
Michelle Wenzler is a licensed clinical social worker in California with 15 years of experience helping people navigate stress, anxiety, grief, depression, and major life changes. She focuses on practical, day-to-day strategies that make overwhelming problems feel more manageable. Michelle emphasizes the person's strengths and choices while offering steady support during hard times.
Her approach is straightforward and down-to-earth. Sessions center on listening first, then finding small changes that build momentum.
Background and approach
She uses problem-solving conversations, mindfulness practices, and tools from cognitive behavioral approaches to reduce worry and improve mood. Michelle also addresses compassion fatigue and caregiver stress. She helps people set realistic boundaries, name and process grief, and rebuild energy after long periods of giving to others.
For people facing aging or hospice concerns she focuses on clear communication and practical steps. Across different concerns she draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to clarify values and motivate change. Motivational interviewing techniques help when people feel stuck or uncertain about next steps.
Client-centered methods keep the client's experience central in each session. Michelle works with a wide range of mood and trauma-related struggles, including panic attacks and post-traumatic stress. She aims to make therapy a collaborative process that respects each person's pace and goals.
Approaches that guide online sessions
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people clarify what matters to them and take small actions in line with those values, which can reduce the hold of worry and avoidance. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on noticing thought and behavior patterns and testing new ways of responding to reduce anxiety and improve mood. Client-centered therapy centers on respectful listening and support so the person feels heard while exploring change.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with each person about their goals, preferences, and how they respond to different ideas. Together they choose techniques that fit the person's life and move toward clear, achievable steps.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video calls let people see facial cues and use shared exercises. Phone sessions can be useful when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging make brief check-ins and ongoing support easier between sessions. These options make it practical to fit therapy into a busy life and keep momentum between meetings.
Questions people ask
What kinds of concerns does Michelle help with?
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What credentials and location information are provided?
Which languages are supported and are international clients accepted?
What session formats are available online?
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What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 15 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
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