About Michele

My Story & Journey

My work as a social worker and psychotherapist has led me through many diverse experiences. I have been both a medical and psychiatric social worker in hospitals and a transition counselor in schools working with children and teens in the special education department. I have also worked as a social worker assisting pregnant women considering adoption. Before opening my private practice in 2019, I worked at an outpatient mental health center for 10 years doing individual, group, and family therapy.

Although I was not aware of my highly sensitive person (HSP) trait in my earlier years as a social worker, I discovered Elaine Aron’s work several years ago and I knew right away that the descriptor of HSP applies to me very strongly. Being an HSP allows me a unique ability for helping all people seeking therapy, but the HSP trait offers a unique perspective when helping others who also have the highly sensitive trait to navigate the difficulties of life.

I never felt like I quite fit in anywhere and I definitely don't fit into this fast-paced world. My introverted nature and deep empathy led me to naturally gravitate towards helping others. From a young age, friends recognized my innate ability to listen and support, often suggesting I someday pursue a career as a therapist. However, it was not until I combined my love for helping people and animals during an internship in college at a therapeutic horseback riding center that my path became clear. Witnessing the profound healing effects of connecting hurting people with the calming energy of horses sparked a realization of the power of sensitivity in the healing process. Discovering Elaine Aron’s research on highly sensitive people further validated my own feelings and experiences, providing a sense of belonging and understanding that guided my clinical work in various settings.

I understand loss deeply and intimately, having endured the death of my only sibling to a brain tumor, which has rendered me an only child. Grief is a nuanced and complicated process, especially for an HSP. The ripple effects of a death in a family extend outward in numerous ways and necessitates intense understanding from a healer. Now with my private practice, I aim to provide a safe haven for highly sensitive individuals to embrace their uniqueness and heal from a lifetime of feeling misunderstood. My ultimate goal is to expand awareness and understanding of high sensitivity, empowering individuals to live authentically and thrive in a world that often fails to appreciate and value their sensitivity.

I also have a focus in supporting HSP women who are going through perimenopause, as this stage of life can be so challenging and doesn’t have the support or resources that it deserves.

This emphasis comes from my own personal experience of navigating debilitating symptoms that significantly disrupted my life. There was hardly any support available and absolutely no healthcare professionals that considered that it was hormonal due to perimenopause. So much was thrown back at me…”You are in chronic pain because you must sit too much… It’s the way you walk, the sneakers you own, the lack of stretching, what you eat or what you don't eat!”

So I went down a path of trying each and every suggestion. Surely something would work! I tried the route of functional medicine, eating all natural, going gluten- and dairy-free. Gut testing, intermittent fasting, etc. Nothing made a difference in the distress because I did not have someone tell me that this is because of your hormones and it is happening TO you, not because of you. It was not until I was able to connect to myself internally and connect with my HSP nature that I was able to tune in and listen to what my own needs were. I found a great menopause doctor, an exercise regimen that works for my energy level, (which required a lot of tuning out all kinds of information that really is geared towards neurotypical and non-sensitive people) and I learned how to nurture my sensitive nature with adequate rest and boundaries to reduce my sense of overwhelm.

In my role as a therapist, I encourage HSP women facing perimenopause to connect with themselves first and acknowledge their needs while advocating for themselves.