About Michelle
Michelle Durham is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) based in the District of Columbia. She focuses on practical support for people facing addiction, trauma, anxiety, grief, relationship and intimacy challenges, and career or workplace stress. Michelle aims to meet people where they are and help them take manageable steps forward.
She brings 19 years of experience in nonprofit and community settings to her work. That background includes counseling people with severe mental health concerns, substance use, homelessness, and those leaving incarceration or foster care.
How Michelle works
Those roles shaped a direct, hands-on approach to solving everyday problems. Michelle uses a client-centered, strength-based stance. Sessions emphasize what a person already does well and build from there.
She also draws on cognitive behavioral tools, narrative techniques, mindfulness, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy strategies when they fit the client’s goals. Cultural context and life circumstances are part of the conversation. Michelle pays attention to how cultural background, caregiver roles, military or first responder experiences, and workplace pressures affect wellbeing.
She also supports people working through non-monogamous relationship dynamics, LGBT concerns, and multifaceted family stressors. Practical skill building is a common focus. That can mean coping plans for stress, strategies to manage anger or cravings, steps to repair trust after infidelity, or routines to boost self-esteem.
Michelle frames therapy as collaborative work that centers the client’s priorities and values.
Michelle lists 7 ways of working on the entry:
What Michelle works with
The areas below are the ones Michelle selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Addictions
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Coaching
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Family conflicts
- First responder issues
- Grief
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Multicultural concerns
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Training and background
| Register | LPC |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 19 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | District of Columbia |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
How therapeutic approaches translate to online care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) emphasizes identifying personal values and taking small actions that align with them. It can help people who feel stuck by shifting focus toward meaningful goals rather than getting caught in unwanted thoughts. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on spotting unhelpful thinking and changing behaviors that keep problems going. CBT is often useful for anxiety, depression, and stress because it gives clear skills to practice between sessions.Finding the right approach is something the therapist and client figure out together. Michelle uses a client-centered stance to tailor techniques to each person’s goals and life circumstances. She will discuss different methods and prioritize what feels most useful and doable for the person in front of her.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to make care more flexible. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and messaging let people write between sessions or choose a format that fits a busy schedule. These options help people fit therapy into work, caregiving, and other daily demands.
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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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