Services

Counsel

Michelle is an experienced clinician, and works with children and adults to enhance physical, social and emotional health and well-being through individual, couples, and family therapy. Michelle works with individuals of all ages to help them become more skilled at accurately identifying and expressing emotions, as well as promote greater a stronger sense of self- and social-awareness, empathy, and responsible decision-making.Michelle helps parents gain awareness regarding how their own beliefs and behaviors influence children’s development and family dynamics; knowledge about developmental theories, current research, and educational and legal mandates; as well as practical and effective strategies to enhance parent-child communication and relationships.

Communicate

Michelle is a talented and engaging speaker for children, parents, and professionals, and is able to share research, theory, and practical strategies with a dash of humor and humility. Michelle offers interactive workshops on a variety of topics, as well as facilitates parenting and book discussion groups.

Consult

Michelle consults to schools and organizations regarding strategic planning, program evaluation (including selecting and developing measures, collecting and analyzing data, conducting interviews, focus groups, and on-site evaluations, and disseminating findings) and also provides guidance regarding how to utilize evaluation data to inform service delivery. Michelle has also advised several toy companies on all aspects of educationally-themed product development and dissemination such as assessing the developmental appropriateness and relevance of toys and educational programming, creating complementary materials to involve parents and educators, and participating in media appearances to promote such products.

Below is a sample of topics Michelle frequently speaks on - presentations can be adapted for multiple audiences and Michelle also offers a series of workshops on targeted topics (such as parent-teacher conferences, kindergarten readiness, and social-emotional learning) with parallel sessions for children, parents, and teachers.

Child and Adolescent Development

How do I know if my child (and I) are ready for school?

The power of play and play-based learning

Middle ground for middle schoolers.

Adolescence: It doesn’t have to be storm and stress!

Tween and teen talk: Translating, texting, and talking to, not at your teens

High school hotbed: Managing everything from homework to hormones

Helping kids navigate the world, and the world wide web

Raising resilience: I’m not sure what exactly it is but I know I want more of it!

School-Family Partnerships & Family Involvement in Children’s Education

Getting parents and teachers to talk (to each other): Promoting positive home-school communication

Parent-teacher conferences: How to discuss children’s strengths and areas for improvement in twenty minutes or less!

Creating healthy homework habits at school and home

Come on in: Building family involvement at school

We’re all on the same team: How to effectively partner with parents

Professional Development & Training for Educators, Coordinators, and Administrators

Collaborating with your community: How to conduct a needs assessment and create an action plan

Identifying social and emotional issues in school-age children

Creating protocol for mental health policies and procedures

Building a better balance: Managing multiple roles in challenging times