Michelle Garibaldi, LMFT

Michelle Garibaldi is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 23 years of experience based in California. She helps people dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, relationship and family tensions, grief, addiction, and challenges like parenting, sleep problems, anger, and self-esteem. Her work often addresses life changes, career concerns, compassion fatigue, and ADHD-related struggles.

Michelle uses a collaborative, down-to-earth approach. She listens first to understand what matters most to each person. Then she helps set clear, realistic goals and chooses practical steps to reach them. Sessions are warm and focused on what will make a difference in everyday life.

Her practice draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, client-centered methods, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, and narrative ideas. That mix lets her help people notice unhelpful thinking, build new habits, and reconnect with values that matter. She uses skill-building, gentle challenges, and reflective conversation to move work forward.

Clients can expect straightforward tools they can try between sessions. Michelle often combines short-term problem-solving with deeper work on attachment, loss, and meaning. She also supports people navigating divorce, blended family dynamics, fatherhood questions, aging concerns, and end-of-life issues.

Michelle works in English and practices as a California LMFT. Her style is practical, empathetic, and collaborative - focused on finding steps that fit each person's life and goals.

How Michelle’s approaches work online

Michelle commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and client-centered methods in her online work. CBT focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing new behaviors to reduce anxiety, improve sleep, manage anger, and change addictive patterns. Client-centered work emphasizes listening, empathy, and building a trusting relationship so clients can explore feelings about relationships, grief, and identity.

She also brings existential ideas into sessions when people are questioning life purpose, facing midlife shifts, or coping with loss. That work invites reflection about values and meaning alongside practical steps. Choosing the right mix of techniques is a joint process; the therapist will talk with each person about goals and try approaches that fit their needs and preferences.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for deeper conversations and learning skills together. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or for a shorter check-in. Live chat and messaging work well for ongoing coaching, quick skill reminders, or when someone prefers writing. These options make it simpler to fit therapy into a busy schedule and to keep consistent progress from wherever a person is located in California.