Laverne Santangelo, LPC

Laverne Santangelo is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) practicing in Michigan who combines clinical training with holistic coaching and yoga practices. She is a certified Wholistic Life Coach and Yoga Teacher, and she holds a certification in Trauma-Informed Yoga. A veteran who retired from the Army National Guard after 23 years of honorable service, she has also volunteered and worked in helping roles for 25 years, bringing a wide range of lived and professional experience to her work.

Laverne draws on personal experience with mental health and a family history of substance use to inform a compassionate, nonjudgmental approach. Her clinical background includes inpatient substance use treatment, community mental health work with severe mental illness and co-occurring disorders, and facilitating groups designed to help women navigate life transitions. She has supported families learning to understand addiction and has worked with women managing shame, guilt, and forgiveness after abortion.

In addition to counseling, Laverne offers life coaching to support clients in setting and achieving personal goals. She uses person-centered planning to create collaborative treatment plans and integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, motivational interviewing, and holistic methods to support stability, balance, and overall wellness. Laverne emphasizes meeting clients where they are and working alongside them toward practical solutions and growth.

Approach-Focused Online Therapy

Laverne draws on client-centered therapy to create a collaborative, respectful space where the person s goals and values guide treatment. This approach emphasizes listening, empathy, and partnership to help clients explore their experiences and identify meaningful directions for change.

She also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help clients recognize and shift patterns of thinking and behavior that contribute to anxiety, depression, addiction, and stress. CBT offers practical strategies and skills that can be applied to day-to-day challenges. Motivational Interviewing is another tool she employs to support change by strengthening motivation and resolving ambivalence, which can be especially useful for substance use, lifestyle changes, and readiness-based goals.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and Laverne works collaboratively with each person to determine which methods best match their needs, goals, and preferences. Online care makes that collaboration flexible - sessions can take place by video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit varying schedules and access needs. These options allow clients to engage in therapy from different locations and at different times while maintaining regular contact and consistent progress with a licensed professional.