Michele McShea, LCSW

Michele McShea is a licensed clinical social worker with 19 years of practice in Illinois. She works with people facing anxiety, depression, relationship struggles, and stress. Michele also supports clients dealing with issues tied to identity and intimacy, including LGBT concerns and infidelity. Her approach blends practical coping skills with deeper insight work. She uses methods such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Psychodynamic Therapy to help people notice patterns and try new responses. Solution-Focused Therapy is used when clients want targeted, short-term goals and steps to change. Michele treats trauma, abuse, and grief with attention to safety and pacing. She pays close attention to how family of origin, codependency, and abandonment shape current reactions. Over time she helps people increase functioning while building self-compassion and motivation. Sessions often include talking through painful memories, practicing new behaviors, and setting realistic goals. Michele frames therapy as a collaborative process where coping skills and insight reinforce one another. She has experience with addictions, HIV/AIDS concerns, body image struggles, and issues around control and dependence. People who work with Michele can expect candid, steady support aimed at practical progress. She emphasizes small changes that add up, and she respects each person’s pace. Her work is grounded in years of clinical experience and a clear focus on everyday improvements.

How Michele’s Approaches Translate Online

Michele uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice thoughts that keep them stuck and try new behaviors in daily life. CBT is practical and often focuses on small experiments and homework to change unhelpful patterns.

She also draws on Solution-Focused Therapy to set clear, short-term goals and track small steps forward. This approach is useful when someone wants focused, action-oriented work that produces measurable changes.

Choosing the right approach is a shared process. Michele will work with each person to match methods to their needs, goals, and preferences. That may mean combining insight work and skills practice or shifting emphasis as progress is made.

Confirm available session formats before booking since the profile does not list them. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life by cutting commute time, allowing a quicker check-in during a work break, or making sessions possible across different time zones. Licensed professionals can adapt exercises, homework, and conversation to work well in a remote setting, keeping focus on measurable progress and daily coping.