- CBT
- DBT
- Mindfulness
About Michelle
Michelle Pennella is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in New York with four years of clinical experience. She works with people facing stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, bipolar disorder, and depression. Michelle focuses on practical skills and clear steps rather than abstract talk.
Her sessions tend to be collaborative and direct. She uses techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy to help people notice unhelpful thoughts, test them, and practice new responses. Mindfulness strategies and acceptance and commitment therapy ideas are used to help with difficult feelings and to clarify personal values.
Michelle often helps clients who feel isolated or stuck by breaking problems into small, manageable tasks. She offers guidance for intrusive thoughts, compulsive behaviors, relationship strain, and navigating midlife transitions. She also supports people dealing with postpartum depression, anger around infidelity, and persistent guilt or shame.
In meetings she focuses on skills you can try between sessions. That includes behavioral experiments, thought records, grounding practices, and short mindfulness exercises. Sessions aim to build coping strategies that fit daily life and responsibilities.
Michelle works with adults ranging from young adults to people in their 50s. She emphasizes clear goals, measurable steps, and practical tools for handling mood disorders, obsessions and compulsions, and communication problems. To start, people complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule a first session.
How Michelle uses evidence-based approaches online
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, then focus on actions that match what matters to them. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at patterns of thinking and behavior, and uses short experiments and practice to shift those patterns. Mindfulness Therapy involves brief attention exercises and grounding work to reduce reactivity and support clearer choices.Finding the right approach is part of the work. Michelle will collaborate with each person to pick the methods that fit their goals and day-to-day life. She adjusts techniques based on how someone responds and what feels most useful in practice.
Session formats are not specified in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to schedule therapy around work, family, or other commitments and can allow shorter check-ins when needed. They also let people try skills in the settings where struggles happen, then bring observations back to session for review and problem solving.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
4+ years
Listed in
New York
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does Michelle address?
She helps people with stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, bipolar disorder, and depression, plus related issues like isolation, intrusive thoughts, and midlife transitions.
What is her therapeutic style?
Her approach is collaborative and practical, using clear skills practice and short exercises to change thoughts and behaviors over time.
How much clinical experience does she have?
Michelle has four years of experience as a practicing clinician in New York.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) licensed in New York and practices from that state.
Which languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people outside the US work with her?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How does billing and cost work?
Cost varies with location; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin a first session?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule a first session.