Kelly Drake, LMSW

Kelly Drake is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) and clinical social worker whose practice emphasizes assessment, diagnosis, and treatment across a range of settings. Over more than two decades she has worked with children, adolescents, service members, and families affected by trauma, severe mental illness, and abuse, serving diverse communities in the Detroit area and beyond. Early in her career she focused on suicide assessment and trauma treatment for children ages 4 to 17, partnering with community mental health agencies and school systems to support vulnerable youth. Later, as an Army officer and social worker, she spent ten years addressing suicide risk and trauma among Soldiers and their families, adapting solution-focused strategies and applying cognitive behavioral techniques to help with nightmares and sleep disruption. She has received training in Cognitive Processing Therapy, an evidence-based approach for PTSD care.

Her therapeutic approach is calm, collected, and perceptive, offering accurate empathy while treating each person with respect and dignity. She moves at each client’s pace while being direct about the steps needed for change, believing that progress is built through the therapeutic relationship rather than casual advice. For Kelly, social work is a vocation and she values the opportunity to accompany people through some of their most vulnerable life moments, appreciating the trust clients place in her work.

Attachment, client-centered work, and online care

Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on the ways early relationships shape current patterns of relating. It helps people understand fears of abandonment, intimacy challenges, and how family of origin issues influence present-day connections. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes empathy, acceptance, and supporting the client’s own capacity for growth; it’s useful for building self-esteem, navigating life changes, and exploring values at the client’s pace. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) examines the links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and offers practical skills to manage anxiety, mood concerns, sleep problems, and unhelpful patterns.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process and is done collaboratively. Kelly will work with each person to identify goals, discuss which methods fit those goals, and adjust the plan over time so the work aligns with preferences and needs. This shared decision-making helps clients feel engaged and heard throughout treatment.

Online therapy offers flexible access to care through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules, maintain continuity during life transitions, and choose the communication style that feels most comfortable. Licensed professionals and therapists can use these formats to deliver consistent, focused treatment tailored to individual circumstances.