- Skills focused
- Practical tools
- Collaborative planning
About Michelle
Michelle Varady is a licensed clinical social worker who draws on a decade of practice to help people facing stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, and grief. She works with clients in California and accepts international clients. Michelle uses straightforward, practical tools and a calm presence to help people feel steadier in day-to-day life.
Her background includes work across multiple states and a range of care settings, giving her experience with mood disorders, panic, and long-term patterns like codependency and impulsivity. Michelle combines behavioral techniques with body-focused work to address both symptoms and their underlying causes. Sessions often include skills practice, reflection, and small, doable changes to daily routines.
Michelle favors approaches that teach clear skills people can use outside of sessions. She blends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - which looks at thoughts and actions that keep problems going - with Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills for emotion regulation and Somatic Therapy to notice how stress shows up in the body. Mindfulness and solution-focused strategies are added when a client wants short-term, goal-oriented work.
She aims to help clients manage sleep problems, navigate life transitions, and reduce harmful habits like substance misuse. Michelle also supports people dealing with abandonment wounds, guilt, and shame, working at a pace the client can tolerate. Her style is direct but warm, asking questions and offering tools rather than long lectures.
To begin, Michelle asks people to describe what feels most urgent and then builds a plan together. Progress is tracked in practical steps so clients can see what is changing between sessions.
Her background includes work across multiple states and a range of care settings, giving her experience with mood disorders, panic, and long-term patterns like codependency and impulsivity. Michelle combines behavioral techniques with body-focused work to address both symptoms and their underlying causes. Sessions often include skills practice, reflection, and small, doable changes to daily routines.
Michelle favors approaches that teach clear skills people can use outside of sessions. She blends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - which looks at thoughts and actions that keep problems going - with Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills for emotion regulation and Somatic Therapy to notice how stress shows up in the body. Mindfulness and solution-focused strategies are added when a client wants short-term, goal-oriented work.
She aims to help clients manage sleep problems, navigate life transitions, and reduce harmful habits like substance misuse. Michelle also supports people dealing with abandonment wounds, guilt, and shame, working at a pace the client can tolerate. Her style is direct but warm, asking questions and offering tools rather than long lectures.
To begin, Michelle asks people to describe what feels most urgent and then builds a plan together. Progress is tracked in practical steps so clients can see what is changing between sessions.
This summary is based on the profile information listed on BetterHelp.