Michelle Carter, LICSW

Michelle Carter, LICSW (Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker), brings 15 years of clinical experience to a collaborative and client-focused practice. She centers her work on each person’s goals and the immediate or persistent challenges they face, meeting clients where they are and helping them clarify what truly matters in their lives.

She compares the burdens people carry to rocks picked up along the way - some are essential and chosen, while others were picked up unnoticed and can be set down. Michelle helps clients examine which commitments reflect their own values and which belong to other people or old expectations, supporting shifts toward more meaningful and self-directed living.

As a guide in the therapeutic process, she offers nonjudgmental exploration to promote greater self-awareness, acceptance, and strength. Together with clients she identifies practical steps to reduce symptoms or behaviors that interfere with engagement and well-being, emphasizing goals that arise from a confident, healthy sense of self rather than from fear.

She adjusts the pace and focus of therapy to fit each person’s needs and priorities, partnering with clients to move toward increased resilience, clearer values, and greater personal freedom.

Evidence-Based Approaches and Online Care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice thoughts and feelings without being driven by them, and clarifies personal values so actions align with what matters most. It is often used to address stress, anxiety, low mood, and life transitions by encouraging committed, value-driven behavior.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful patterns of thinking and behavior. It teaches practical skills to manage symptoms such as worry, sleep difficulties, and habits that interfere with daily functioning.

Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes empathetic listening and a collaborative relationship in which the therapist follows the client’s lead, supporting self-directed growth and increased confidence. Michelle draws from these approaches to tailor each plan of care.

Finding the right approach is part of the work itself. Michelle partners with clients to determine whether a single method or a combination best fits their needs, goals, and preferences, adjusting the treatment plan as progress unfolds.

Online therapy offers flexible access to licensed professionals through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules, maintain continuity during life changes, and continue conversations between sessions when appropriate, all while allowing therapists to adapt techniques to an individual’s pace and setting.