About Michele
Michele Downey helps people who are feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or burned out. She makes space for honest conversation about stress, anxiety, addiction, mood changes, relationship strain, grief, and struggles with self-worth. Michele is a California licensed marriage and family therapist with 35 years of experience, and she approaches each person with respect and compassion.
She adapts sessions to fit what a person needs in the moment. Michele works at a steady pace and focuses on practical steps people can try between sessions.
How Michele works
Her work often covers coping skills for anxiety, managing mood shifts, addressing addictive behaviors, and sorting out relationship and communication problems. Michele also helps people facing caregiver stress, blended family challenges, codependency, and life transitions such as divorce or midlife shifts. She supports clients dealing with grief, hospice and end-of-life concerns, and questions about life purpose.
She addresses intimacy-related issues, sleeping and eating problems, and challenges linked to attention and focus. Therapy is collaborative: Michele and the person decide together what goals make sense and how to reach them. She tailors the plan and adjusts the process when life changes or new needs arise.
The tone in sessions is straightforward and compassionate, with an eye toward usable tools. People who want clear, practical help for everyday problems may find her approach helpful. She offers telephone and video sessions as well as live chat and text-based messaging for ongoing support.
What Michele works with
The areas below are the ones Michele 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
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating disorders
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Intimacy-related issues
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
Training and background
| Register | LMFT |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 35 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | California |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
How Michele Applies Therapeutic Methods Online
Many licensed professionals use evidence-based techniques that teach skills for managing thoughts, feelings, and behavior. One common approach focuses on building coping skills and problem-solving strategies for stress, anxiety, mood shifts, and addictive behaviors; sessions break issues into manageable steps and practice techniques to use between meetings. Another helpful method concentrates on improving communication and relationship patterns by noticing interaction styles and rehearsing different responses to reduce conflict and increase connection.Finding the right approach is part of the work. Michele collaborates with each person to identify goals and tries methods that fit their situation and preferences. If something isn’t working, she adjusts the plan and experiments with different techniques until a useful fit emerges.
Online therapy offers practical flexibility. Video calls let people see facial cues and work through issues in real time. Phone sessions require less bandwidth and can be easier to fit into a short break. Live chat and text-based messaging support brief check-ins, day-to-day coaching, and reminders between longer sessions. These options make it simpler to maintain regular momentum and use therapy in ways that match a person’s schedule and needs.
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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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