- Anxiety and depression
- Guilt and shame
- CBT and psychodynamic
About Michele
Michele McShea is an LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) based in Illinois with 19 years of experience. She works with adults who are carrying anxiety, depression, relationship pain, addiction concerns, grief, and issues tied to family of origin. She also lists focus areas that include guilt and shame, body image, codependency, and intimacy-related concerns.
Michele uses both insight and practical coping skills in sessions. She combines talk therapy with methods that help people change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. Her background includes psychodynamic ideas about how early relationships shape us and solution-focused strategies to build small, doable changes.
Sessions often include examination of patterns that keep someone stuck. Michele helps people name painful feelings, notice how they act in response, and test new ways of responding. She also uses techniques drawn from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and hypnotherapy when appropriate to the goals being addressed.
Michele has worked with many people around trauma, abuse, and post-traumatic stress and she lists LGBT-related concerns among her practice areas. She frames work as a mix of gaining insight and learning coping tools so functioning can improve while deeper change unfolds.
Her approach is straightforward and pragmatic. Michele invites people to talk about what feels heavy, whether it is guilt, shame, loneliness, or problems with intimacy, and then helps them take practical steps to feel more able to act and relate in the ways they want.
Approaches used online and how they work
CBT, or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, focuses on the links between thoughts, feelings, and actions. It uses practical exercises and behavior experiments to reduce symptoms like anxiety or low mood and to change patterns that feed guilt or shame.Psychodynamic therapy looks at recurring patterns and how early relationships shape current reactions. It helps people notice unconscious rules they follow and how those rules contribute to feelings such as emptiness, guilt, or difficulty with intimacy.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. Michele will discuss options and help decide what fits a person's needs, goals, and preferences. She treats this as a collaborative process and may combine techniques from different approaches to match what someone wants to accomplish.
Confirm the therapist's current session options before booking because specific formats are not listed in the biography. In general, online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, shorten travel time, or allow for check-ins that are quicker than an in-person visit. Talk through scheduling, session length, and whether video, phone, or another supported option best suits practical needs when you schedule your first appointment.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
19+ years
Listed in
Illinois
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she address?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship and intimacy issues, addictions, trauma and abuse, grief, family of origin concerns, and related topics such as guilt and shame.
How would she approach feelings of guilt or shame?
Michele combines insight-oriented discussion with coping skills and behavioral experiments. She helps people name the feeling, track how it affects behavior, and try practical changes to reduce its hold.
What is her clinical background?
She has 19 years of clinical experience and has worked with individuals and groups on a wide range of concerns including trauma, LGBTQ issues, and relationship problems.
What credential and region is she based in?
She is an LCSW licensed in Illinois and practices from that state.
In which language can I meet with her?
Sessions are offered in English and she accepts international clients.
What session formats does she offer?
Please confirm current session options before booking, as the biography does not specify particular formats.
How does payment work and what does it cost?
Costs vary with location and sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, use the crisis numbers.