PuttingFamilyFirst

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MG Portrait of Michelle Garibaldi
Online therapist

Michelle Garibaldi

Calm, practical support for family and parenting concerns

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Credentials
LMFT
Experience
23 years
Licensed in
California
Languages
English
Format
Online sessions

About Michelle

Michelle Garibaldi is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) based in California. She brings 23 years of clinical experience to work with people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, and relationship or parenting concerns. She aims to help clients name clear goals and take practical steps toward them.

Her manner is warm and empathic, and she focuses on collaboration rather than prescriptions. Her sessions draw on several evidence-informed methods tailored to each person.

Background and approach

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and try different responses. Client-Centered Therapy offers a supportive space to be heard and to explore what matters most. She also uses mindfulness tools and motivational interviewing strategies when those fit the situation.

Michelle often addresses issues tied to family dynamics, communication problems, blended family concerns, and parenting challenges. She has experience with trauma and abuse, grief and end-of-life matters, compassion fatigue, and concerns around intimacy and self-esteem. She also works with career stress, life transitions, and ADHD-related struggles.

Her background includes long-term clinical work helping people create concrete changes. She prefers active approaches that lead to small experiments between sessions. That helps clients test what works in everyday life and track progress over time.

Therapy sessions are offered in English and are available through online formats. To begin, a short matching questionnaire and scheduling step connects people to the right support based on goals and preferences.

Therapeutic approaches and online options that fit real life

Michelle uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people identify unhelpful thought patterns and try different behaviors. CBT is practical and often focuses on small experiments people can do between sessions to reduce anxiety or mood symptoms.

She also draws from Client-Centered Therapy, which centers on listening and understanding. This approach creates space for someone to reflect on values, parenting choices, and relationship priorities without judgement.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. She will discuss goals, preferences, and what feels most useful, then tailor methods to the person. The plan can shift as needs change so the work stays relevant and helpful.

Online sessions make it easier to fit therapy into busy family life. Options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to match comfort and schedule. These formats support continuity of care and let people use the tools they learn in their everyday routines.

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.

Existential Therapy

Takes the larger questions seriously: meaning, choice, mortality, responsibility. Suited to periods when the difficulty is less a symptom than a sense that something has to change.

Frequently asked questions

What concerns does Michelle address?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship and parenting issues, trauma and abuse, grief, addictions, and related topics such as intimacy, sleep, and self-esteem.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her style is warm and collaborative. She helps clients set clear goals and uses active techniques to try small changes between sessions.
How much experience does she have?
She has 23 years of clinical experience helping people with family, relationship, and personal challenges.
What are her credentials and location?
She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, LMFT, licensed in California with license number CA LMFT 40177, and practices from California.
Which languages are supported and can international clients connect?
Sessions are offered in English. International clients are not currently accepted.
What session formats are offered?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to suit different needs and schedules.
How does pricing work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What are the first steps to begin therapy?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.

Specialties and expertise

Top specialties

Also works with

Therapeutic approaches

Experience
23 years
Licensed
California
Languages
English

Next step

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