Ferial Youkhanna, LMSW

Ferial Youkhanna is a licensed social worker with more than 24 years of clinical experience working with individuals, couples, and families in Michigan. She earned a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Detroit Mercy and a Master in Clinical Mental Health/Micro Social Work from Wayne State University, and she holds an LMSW, which stands for Licensed Master Social Worker. Her practice spans a broad range of challenges - from anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and PTSD to addictions such as gambling, grief and bereavement, relationship and marital issues, and adjustment difficulties.

Ferial combines evidence-based methods like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Attachment-Based Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Emotionally-Focused Therapy with practical skills drawn from motivational interviewing and solution-focused techniques. She has particular experience supporting clients facing trauma, severe mental illness, intimacy and attachment concerns, parenting and caregiver stress, sleep and eating problems, and career or life transitions. Fluent in English, Arabic, and Chaldean/Aramaic, she offers culturally attuned care and a collaborative approach that helps clients build resilience and make meaningful changes over time.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps clients clarify personal values and take committed action toward them while accepting difficult emotions. It is often useful for anxiety, depression, chronic stress, and life transitions because it emphasizes meaningful living alongside emotional experience.

Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on how early relational patterns influence current relationships and emotional responses. This approach can help individuals and couples address attachment wounds, improve intimacy, and repair communication patterns that contribute to relationship distress.

Client-Centered Therapy places the client at the center of the work, emphasizing empathy, respect, and collaboration so clients can discover their own solutions and strengths. It is well suited to those seeking a supportive space to explore identity, self-esteem, and coping with change.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Ferial works collaboratively with clients and licensed professionals to tailor methods to each person’s needs, goals, and preferences, adjusting strategies as progress unfolds.

Online therapy offers flexibility and access through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, making it easier to fit care into busy schedules and varied circumstances. These options support consistent engagement and make it possible to continue work on relationships, coping skills, and emotional goals from locations that suit the client.