Michele Koenes, LMSW, LCSW

Michele Koenes is a licensed social worker who helps people manage stress, anxiety, depression, grief, and life transitions. She uses straightforward, compassionate care and works at a pace set by the person seeking help. Michele holds both a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) credential and has eleven years of clinical experience.

Michele has worked in inpatient and outpatient settings. She has supported adults and older adults through a wide range of concerns, including trauma, addiction, sleep problems, eating concerns, and relationship struggles. Her background also includes time as a litigation attorney and a teacher, which she says strengthened her ability to listen and communicate clearly.

In sessions she focuses on collaboration. Michele pays attention to each person’s personality and needs and adapts her approach accordingly. She emphasizes empathy and lets clients set the pace while offering practical tools to manage symptoms and cope with change.

Her toolbox includes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Attachment-Based work, Client-Centered methods, and elements of Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Michele aims to help people notice unhelpful patterns and build new ways of responding that fit their values and goals.

Michele practices from Michigan and offers online care. She speaks English and brings a calm, direct style that is practical and respectful. People seeking a steady, collaborative therapist often find her approach helpful.

How Michele’s approaches translate to online care

CBT helps people notice and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors to reduce anxiety, depression, and other symptoms. It uses practical exercises and short assignments to build new habits and coping skills. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on helping people clarify their values and take small actions toward them while learning to accept difficult feelings. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at patterns in close relationships and helps people develop more secure ways of relating and feeling connected.

Michele treats finding the right approach as a collaborative step. She will talk with each person about their goals and preferences, then use elements from these approaches that fit best. That means sessions can mix skills training, values work, and relational exploration depending on what the client needs.

Online work is offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy more flexible. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation for skills practice; phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited; live chat and text are useful for quick check-ins or when shorter, written interactions fit someone’s routine. These options help people fit therapy into busy lives and keep progress moving between in-person visits when needed.