About Michelle

Michelle Garibaldi is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 23 years of experience. She helps people manage stress, anxiety, ADHD challenges, grief, depression, and relationship or parenting concerns. Her style is warm and direct, aimed at making small, practical changes that add up over time.

She meets people where they are and works together to set clear goals. Sessions focus on what a person wants to change and on steps to get there.

Background and approach

Michelle uses straightforward techniques from client-centered work and cognitive behavioral approaches to build useful habits and clearer thinking. Her background includes long experience with trauma and abuse recovery, addiction, and intimacy-related struggles. She also supports clients facing career shifts, midlife concerns, aging issues, and caregiving or hospice-related stress.

That range comes from many years helping people through transitions and hard losses. Michelle uses narrative and existential ideas to help clients find meaning and purpose in difficult moments. Mindfulness practices are often added to reduce reactivity and improve sleep and concentration.

Motivational interviewing is used when people want change but feel stuck or uncertain. Sessions are offered from California and are practical in tone. The work is collaborative and goal-oriented, but also values each person’s story.

Michelle aims to help people leave sessions with a clear next step and a feeling of forward movement.

Therapeutic approaches and online care

Client-centered therapy focuses on the person’s perspective and priorities. It means the therapist listens closely and follows what matters most to the client, which helps build trust and clarify goals. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the link between thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches practical skills to change unhelpful patterns and reduce anxiety or low mood.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. The therapist will work together with the client to pick methods that match needs, goals, and preferences. That might mean mixing client-centered listening with CBT exercises, adding mindfulness practices for attention and sleep, or using motivational interviewing when someone needs help deciding to change.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation while phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text messaging provide shorter check-ins or ongoing support between longer sessions. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent around work, caregiving, or travel while still working toward clear goals.

Questions people ask

What concerns does this therapist address?
She supports people with stress, anxiety, ADHD, depression, trauma, relationship and parenting concerns, grief, addictions, and related issues.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her style is warm, direct, and collaborative. She focuses on clear goals and practical steps each session.
How much experience does she have?
She has 23 years of clinical experience working with a wide range of life and mental health challenges.
What credentials and location are listed?
She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, CA LMFT, and practices from California.
Which languages are available for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English only.
What session formats are offered?
Therapy can be conducted by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging.
How does cost and billing work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin sessions with this therapist?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.

What this therapist works with

Most often

Experience
23 years
Licensed
California
Languages
English

We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.