About Michael
Michael Hurd uses a solution-focused, goal-oriented approach to help people handle stress, anxiety, addiction, relationship strain, and other life challenges. He draws attention to strengths and practical steps so clients can move forward rather than getting stuck on labels. Michael is a licensed clinical social worker, LCSW, with decades of experience.
Michael centers conversations on the here-and-now. He treats background and childhood history as useful only when it helps reach a goal.
How Michael works
Sessions are collaborative - he acts as a thinking partner and coach who helps people weigh options and try new behaviors. He aims to reduce self-defeating patterns. That often means setting small, measurable goals and testing what works.
He focuses on skills people can use between sessions to ease anxiety, manage cravings, improve communication, or cope with grief and life changes. Michael has many years of professional experience and a long record of writing about mental health. His approach is practical: identify what someone already does well, build on those strengths, and shift unhelpful habits.
He avoids pathologizing language and keeps sessions straightforward. Clients looking for tangible progress may find his style direct and action-oriented. He offers a range of clinical methods, including client-centered techniques and cognitive behavioral strategies, to fit different concerns.
Sessions are offered in English and he works with international clients by online formats.
Michael lists 4 ways of working on the entry:
What Michael works with
The areas below are the ones Michael selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | LCSW |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 36 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | South Carolina |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
How Michael’s Approaches Work Online
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on building a respectful relationship and listening to what matters most to the individual. In practice this means sessions that follow the client's pace and priorities, which can help with issues like self-esteem, grief, and relationship concerns.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the link between thoughts, feelings, and actions. It uses clear exercises and small experiments to reduce anxiety, change unhelpful behaviors, and manage mood shifts in everyday life.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. Michael treats the first sessions as a time to figure out which methods fit best. He collaborates with clients on goals, reviews what helps, and adjusts plans as needed so therapy stays useful and focused.
Online formats make these methods easier to use across distance. Video calls support real-time conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions work well when lighter bandwidth or less screen time is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging let clients check in between sessions or use shorter emotional check-ins when that fits their schedule. These options give flexibility so people can work on goals in ways that fit daily life.
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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