Kelly Drake, LMSW - Therapist in Michigan

About Kelly

Kelly Drake is a licensed social worker with 25 years of clinical experience. She helps people who are struggling with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, parenting challenges, addictions, sleep problems, ADHD, and relationship or intimacy-related concerns. She also has focused experience with grief, LGBT issues, and a broad range of family topics.

Kelly practices in Michigan and brings a calm, direct style to sessions. Kelly trained in social work and holds an LMSW, which is a licensed master social worker credential.

Background and approach

Early in her career she worked with children ages 4 to 17, providing suicide risk assessment and trauma treatment in community mental health and school settings around Detroit. That work included supporting young people from abusive homes and with severe mental illness. She then served as an Army officer and social worker for ten years.

In the military she continued suicide assessment and trauma treatment for soldiers and their families. She learned solution-focused methods and applied cognitive behavioral ideas to help with nightmares and sleep problems. She also trained in Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD.

In sessions she stays calm, grounded, and perceptive. She listens carefully and moves at a client’s pace while being straightforward about what will promote change. Her approach draws on attachment-based ideas, psychodynamic thinking, client-centered listening, CBT techniques, and solution-focused strategies.

Kelly views social work as a vocation. She values respect and dignity in the therapeutic relationship and aims to help people make practical changes over time.

Therapeutic approaches and online care

Kelly uses client-centered work to create a respectful, listening-based space where people can say what matters to them and set their own goals. This approach helps when someone needs empathy and clear attention to their priorities.

She also uses cognitive behavioral therapy, which focuses on practical steps to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. CBT is helpful for anxiety, sleep problems, and managing mood or habits. In addition, attachment-based ideas inform how she understands relationship and family concerns, helping identify patterns that affect trust and closeness.

Finding the right mix of approaches is a collaborative process. The therapist will discuss options with each person, try techniques, and adjust based on what is working and what the person prefers. Clients help set goals and steer the pace of change.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which allow therapy to fit into busy schedules. These options make it easier to maintain continuity of care across work, parenting, and other life demands while still accessing licensed professionals and evidence-informed methods.

Attachment-Based Therapy

Looks at how early bonds shaped what you expect from closeness, and how that plays out now with a partner, a parent, or your own children.

Client-Centered Therapy

The direction comes from you rather than from a set programme. The therapist offers a warm, non-judgemental space to think out loud and work at your own pace. Online, this rests on the relationship rather than on being in the same room.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT looks at the link between what you think, how you feel, and what you do. You work on noticing unhelpful patterns and practising steadier responses. It suits online sessions well, because much of the work happens between appointments and can be talked through from anywhere.

Frequently asked questions

What concerns does Kelly commonly address?

She helps people with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, addictions, grief, parenting topics, sleep issues, ADHD, intimacy-related concerns, and many family-related problems.

How would you describe her therapeutic style?

She brings a calm, perceptive presence and listens closely. She moves at the client’s pace while being direct about what will help create change.

What is her professional background?

Kelly has 25 years of clinical practice that include work with children in community mental health and school settings and a decade as an Army officer and social worker focusing on trauma and suicide assessment.

What credentials and location are listed for this therapist?

She holds an LMSW, listed as MI LMSW 6801086659, and practices in Michigan.

Which languages are sessions offered in?

Sessions are offered in English.

What formats are available for sessions?

Therapy can be delivered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging.

How is cost handled for sessions?

Costs vary with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.

What do I do to begin working with Kelly?

Choose the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions according to therapist availability.

Specialties and expertise

Top specialties

Stress, Anxiety
Relationship issues
Family conflicts

Also works with

Therapeutic approaches

Experience: 25 years
Licensed: Michigan
Languages: English

Next step

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