Michelle PennellaLMHC

Michelle Pennella is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) based in New York who supports people facing depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, and mood concerns. She focuses on helping clients build self-love, find purpose, and grow resilience in everyday life. Michelle’s style is warm and non-judgmental, and she aims to make therapy practical and relatable for busy adults.

Michelle works with people across young adulthood into their 50s. She helps early-career adults with independence and dating stress. She also supports adults navigating partnership challenges, parenting strain, burnout, grief, and midlife transitions.

In sessions she uses evidence-based approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, and mindfulness practices. Rather than a single method, she adapts tools to fit each person’s needs and goals. Sessions focus on clear skills and simple practices that can be used between meetings.

Many people come to Michelle for help with intrusive thoughts, feelings of isolation, relationship struggles, and life purpose questions. She also assists those working through postpartum depression, bipolar and other mood disorders, obsessive and compulsive patterns, and issues tied to personality and impulse control.

Michelle aims for collaborative work that balances insight with doable changes. She meets people where they are, breaks problems into manageable steps, and supports steady progress toward more stable daily functioning and greater personal meaning.

Therapeutic approaches for online care and daily life

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps you notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them. It focuses on identifying values and taking small actions toward what matters. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy looks at the link between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and teaches concrete exercises to shift unhelpful patterns and reduce symptoms. Mindfulness Therapy offers simple attention and breathing practices that reduce reactivity and improve emotional regulation.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work. The therapist collaborates with each person to decide which tools fit their needs, goals, and preferences. That means trying methods, checking what helps, and adjusting plans together as progress unfolds.

Confirm current session options before booking, since specific formats are not listed in the profile. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, reduce travel time, and allow for consistent check-ins during life transitions. Some formats are shorter or use less bandwidth, which can help on hectic days or during quick workplace breaks. Talk with the therapist about what will work best for timing and structure so therapy fits into everyday life.