About Me
Hi, I'm Michelle (she/her)
I'm a heart-centered, quirky, queer, sensitive soul who would love to provide emotional support to other kindred spirits who are facing dis-ease with the current state of their inner and outer worlds. I bring my lived experience of being on the fringes of a neurotypical world and being on my own healing path into my work. Here’s some more about me:
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Xennial
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Recovering overachiever/perfectionist
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Creative Soul- visual artist, poet, thinker
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Dynamically disabled by multiple chronic health conditions including chronic Lyme Disease, autoimmunity, among others
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Neurodivergent
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Queer/bisexual
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Vegan
In the Before Times, I enjoyed travelling, hiking, exhibiting art, and live music. Currently I enjoy gardening, nature, creating, and eating vegan food.
About the Art
As an artist and therapist, I believe that images are gateways to deeper thinking and visceral connections. As I looked through my own artwork to find an image that would communicate the mission of my practice, I was consistently drawn to photographs of koi fish in a pond. According to Japanese myth, if a koi fish succeeds in swimming upstream to the Dragon Gate of the Yellow River, it will turn into an ethereal water dragon. As a result of this legend, the koi fish symbolizes strength, courage, perseverance, non-conformity, family, and good fortune. I couldn't find a more fitting image to describe my belief in the strength of the individual.
About Michelle's Professional Background
I graduated Summe Cum Laude from Millikin University with a BFA in Art Therapy and hold a Master of Arts in Art Therapy degree from University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2005, I became a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor which involved 2 years of supervised clinical work in addition to state board exams. The LCPC license allows me to ethically and legally conduct psychotherapy sessions to treat mental health issues.
Professional Experience
I have over 20 years post-graduate experience with children, adolescents, adults, couples, groups, and families from diverse backgrounds. My work experience includes:
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Founding and maintaining a thriving private practice for over 15 years, while providing psychotherapy to teens, adults, and couples.
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Providing verbal and art psychotherapy to adults and couples as part of Urban Balance, a group of private practitioners, at both their downtown and Ravenswood locations.
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Conducting group and individual art therapy groups, completing intake assessments, and providing team-based case management and community support to adults, adolescents, and children at Community Counseling Centers of Chicago (C4), a community health center with locations throughout the city of Chicago
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Providing crisis assessments at hospitals, schools, and homes in addition to facilitating office and home-based therapy to youth ages 4 to 21 through the Screening Assessment Support Services (SASS) program at C4. Through this position, I coordinated with professionals from various disciplines including psychiatrists, educators, social workers, and child-care workers.
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Providing on-call emergency services for a 24 hour crisis line.
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I also completed several undergraduate and graduate internships at the following facilities: a nursing home, a domestic violence shelter, an outpatient substance abuse program, a residential treatment facility for teens, a high school counseling center and a community mental health center.
