Michelle DeFino , LCSW

Michelle DeFino is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) based in New York with three years of clinical experience. She has focused much of her work on substance use and co-occurring mental health concerns, and she has spent the last three years working with a federal re-entry substance abuse program. Her clinical background includes supporting people managing depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, trauma, and other more severe mental health challenges, along with family and caregiver stressors that often accompany these conditions.

Michelle draws from several evidence-informed approaches to meet each person where they are. She uses motivational interviewing to build motivation for change, cognitive behavioral techniques to help identify and shift unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns, and mindfulness-based skills to improve focus and emotional regulation. She also incorporates client-centered principles that prioritize the person s goals and lived experience during the work together.

Michelle aims to create a collaborative, practical space for clients who are ready to work toward recovery, better coping, and improved relationships. She offers sessions by video, phone, live chat, and in-app messaging, and she does not currently work with international clients. As a licensed clinician in both New Jersey and New York, she brings professional training and a results-oriented focus to each therapeutic relationship.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care with Michelle DeFino

Michelle combines practical, skills-based methods with a collaborative approach to help clients make meaningful changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on identifying and shifting thoughts and behaviors that contribute to mood and stress problems and is often used for anxiety, depression, and impulse-related concerns. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, teaches emotional regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and mindfulness skills to help people manage intense emotions and improve relationships. Motivational Interviewing is a conversational, goal-focused style that helps people strengthen their own motivation and commitment to change, which is especially useful in work around addiction and readiness to change.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and Michelle works collaboratively with each person to determine which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences. She adapts strategies over time as progress and challenges emerge, keeping the client s priorities central to treatment planning.

Online therapy offers flexible ways to engage in this work via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. These options make it easier to access consistent care around work, family, and other commitments, and they allow clients to continue therapy from their own communities while working with licensed professionals and therapists who can guide each step of the process.