Michelle Wendel, LMFT - Therapist in California

About Michelle

Michelle Wendel is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) with ten years of experience helping adults facing stress, anxiety, and parenting challenges. She focuses on practical support for career concerns, self-esteem, and coping with life changes. Michelle aims to create a calm space where clients can speak openly about what’s happening and what they want to change.

She listens closely and adapts what she offers to each person’s needs.

Background and approach

Sessions are collaborative and straightforward, with tools you can try between meetings. Michelle draws on approaches that help people notice what matters, shift unhelpful thoughts, and build everyday habits that reduce stress. Her background includes a decade of clinical work in California treating issues like grief, divorce and separation, codependency, and workplace difficulties.

She also supports concerns around pregnancy and childbirth, aging and geriatric issues, and midlife transitions. Those topics often come with strong emotions, and Michelle focuses on clear, manageable steps to move forward. Therapy sessions prioritize respectful listening and practical strategies.

Michelle uses techniques from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Client-Centered Therapy to tailor plans that fit each person. She welcomes people who prefer online options and who need flexibility around scheduling. Clients who want to explore values, reduce anxiety, or rebuild confidence will find an approach that balances empathy with action.

Michelle invites people to start by describing what feels most pressing and then work together toward achievable changes.

Therapeutic approaches and how they work online

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice painful thoughts without letting those thoughts decide their actions. It focuses on clarifying values and taking small steps toward what matters, which can be useful for anxiety, stress, and life transitions.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at patterns of thinking and behavior that keep problems going. It uses practical exercises and experiments to change unhelpful thoughts and build coping skills for issues like worry and low confidence.

Michelle treats choosing an approach as a team effort. She will talk with clients about goals and preferences, try techniques that fit the situation, and adjust the plan based on what helps most. This collaborative process makes it easier to find methods that feel right.

Online therapy makes these methods accessible across distance and schedules. Video calls let therapists and clients work face to face, while phone sessions can be a simpler option when needed. Live chat and text-based messaging allow short, ongoing check-ins and written exercises between meetings. These formats aim to offer flexibility, so people can get support in ways that fit their daily life.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Less about arguing with difficult thoughts, more about loosening their grip and acting on what matters to you anyway. Values and committed action carry the work, which suits conversation at a distance.

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 kinds of concerns does Michelle address?

She works with stress, anxiety, parenting issues, self-esteem, career worries, and coping with life changes, along with related topics like divorce, codependency, and workplace problems.

What is her therapeutic style like?

Sessions are collaborative and down-to-earth. She combines listening with practical exercises and small steps to try between meetings.

How long has she been practicing?

Michelle has ten years of clinical experience working with adults in a range of life transitions and relational concerns.

What are her credentials and where is she based?

She is a licensed marriage and family therapist - LMFT - licensed in California with license number CA LMFT 111149.

In which languages are sessions offered and can international clients join?

Sessions are offered in English and Michelle accepts international clients.

What session formats does she use?

She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to accommodate different needs and schedules.

How does payment and cost work?

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

How do I begin working with her?

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

Specialties and expertise

Top specialties

Stress, Anxiety
Parenting issues
Self esteem

Also works with

Therapeutic approaches

Experience: 10 years
Licensed: California
Languages: English

Next step

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