Michelle Boyles

Michelle Boyles is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) with 25 years of experience helping people navigate stressful and painful life moments. She focuses on practical support for anxiety, depression, addictions, relationship strain, grief, and career-related concerns. Michelle uses clear, down-to-earth language and aims to help people build coping skills they can use day to day.

Her background includes a Master of Social Work from Georgia State University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Penn State University. She has worked across inpatient crisis stabilization, residential programs, and outpatient therapy. That experience gives her a broad view of how problems show up at different life stages.

In sessions Michelle emphasizes gaining insight, learning skills, and developing realistic plans. She draws on client-centered methods to keep the work focused on each person’s goals. Cognitive techniques are used to examine unhelpful thinking and create new behavior patterns.

Michelle also uses techniques from dialectical behavior therapy and mindfulness approaches to help manage strong emotions and reduce reactivity. Motivational interviewing helps when people feel stuck or are working on substance use and habit change. Together these approaches are used to set short-term goals and track small gains.

Her practice aims to be collaborative and straightforward. People who want direct feedback, practical tools, and a therapist who will help them prioritize changes may find her style useful.

Approaches used in online sessions and what they do

Client-centered therapy focuses on your goals and priorities and helps the therapist follow what matters most to you. It is useful when you want a space to talk things through and shape the work around your needs.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and actions. It helps break down problems into teachable skills and is often used for anxiety, depression, and patterns that affect work or relationships.

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) teaches practical emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal skills. Those tools can be helpful when emotions feel overwhelming or when communication repeatedly breaks down.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what feels helpful, and then suggest techniques to try. That collaborative process makes it easier to adjust the focus over time.

Session formats are not specified in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online sessions can help fit therapy into a busy schedule, reduce travel time, and make regular check-ins easier during work breaks or hectic weeks. They also allow sessions to concentrate on skill practice, thought work, and tracking small changes between meetings.