Michelle Nguyen, LICSW

Michelle Nguyen is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) who helps people manage stress, anxiety, depression, grief, and trauma and abuse. She works with concerns like relationship strain, self-esteem, addictions, parenting challenges, and life transitions. Michelle aims to create a calm, practical space where people can talk through what feels overwhelming and learn clear steps to feel better.

Michelle has five years of clinical experience across inpatient and outpatient psychiatric settings. She also worked as an investigative social worker for Child Protective Services and currently supports homeless veterans. Those roles shaped her understanding of complex life stressors and the realities people face when they seek help.

In sessions she focuses on listening first and then building small, workable plans. She uses approaches such as client-centered work, cognitive behavioral techniques, and mindfulness to help people spot unhelpful patterns and try different responses. She also draws on motivational interviewing and solution-focused methods when clients want concrete goals and faster change.

Michelle favors straightforward conversation and practical tools over jargon. She helps people break down big problems into manageable steps, try new coping strategies, and notice what changes. Her aim is to help clients build skills they can use between sessions.

She practices in the District of Columbia and works in English. Michelle’s background with CPS and veteran services informs her way of working without defining any one client’s story. To begin, readers should confirm current session options before booking.

How Michelle’s approaches translate to online work

Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and following the person's lead. It helps when someone needs a supportive space to make sense of feelings and priorities. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at thoughts and behaviors and teaches practical techniques to reduce anxiety, depression, and unhelpful patterns.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Michelle will collaborate with each person to pick methods that match their goals and preferences. That might mean more CBT-style skill practice some weeks and more client-centered reflection in others, depending on what the person wants to accomplish.

Session formats are not specified here, so confirm current options before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow for shorter check-ins when a full hour is not needed. It also makes it possible to use digital tools and homework between meetings, which supports practice of new skills in everyday life. Licensed professionals can adapt these approaches to suit the client’s needs and goals during remote work.