Michelle Fennessy, LCSW

Michelle Fennessy is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 20 years of experience based in Florida. She earned her master's degree at Columbia University and a bachelor of psychology from Mount Holyoke College. Michelle greets people with a calm, direct style and aims to make the first step feel less intimidating.

She encourages clients to notice small changes that make life easier. Sessions focus on practical steps, thought patterns, and behaviors that get in the way of daily functioning. Michelle often helps people untangle anxiety, depression, grief, and stress so they can feel steadier again.

Her work pays attention to relationships and intimacy-related concerns, including heartbreak, commitment issues, infidelity, and jealousy. She also supports people struggling with addictive or self-destructive behaviors such as binge-eating or problematic drinking. Parenting stress, caregiver burden, and career challenges are common topics she addresses.

Michelle uses approaches that include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, mindfulness, solution-focused techniques, and Internal Family Systems ideas. In sessions she helps people notice the thoughts that keep them stuck and experiment with new ways of responding. She blends goal-setting with acceptance and mindful awareness.

Many clients come to explore life transitions, aging and geriatric concerns, or the stress of living abroad. Michelle also works with issues like body image, cancer-related stress, codependency, shame, and forgiveness. Her aim is to help each person find more clarity and better daily functioning.

How CBT, ACT and Mindfulness fit into online work

Michelle uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and try new behaviors that reduce distress. CBT often involves setting small, practical tasks between sessions and tracking how changes affect mood and functioning.

She also draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people clarify values and take action toward a meaningful life, even when difficult emotions remain. Mindfulness Therapy is used to build present-moment awareness and lessen reactivity to thoughts and feelings.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Michelle will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and the issues they want to address, then adapt techniques to fit those needs. That means trying things, checking what helps, and changing course together when needed.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video lets people use worksheets and do real-time skill work, phone can be a quick check-in or better when bandwidth is limited, and chat or messaging can be helpful for short updates or between-session support. These options make scheduling more flexible and allow therapy to fit into busy days.