About Michael
Michael Garrison is a licensed social worker practicing in Michigan. He holds an LMSW and an LCSW and brings about ten years of experience in school and community mental health settings. He has worked with people facing trauma, addiction, mood disorders, and ADHD.
Michael focuses on building a strong connection as the foundation for change. In sessions he offers clear, practical support and steady validation. He draws on approaches such as cognitive behavioral work, dialectical skills, EMDR, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing to shape sessions around each person's needs.
Background and approach
He helps people set concrete goals and practices between meetings to build new habits. His background includes work with children, adults, and couples in both schools and community agencies. He has experience using parent management strategies and working with severe and persistent mental illness in community settings.
That mix gives him a practical grasp of everyday challenges at home, school, and work. Michael’s style is direct but compassionate. He listens for what matters most and then helps people try small, doable changes.
He aims to make therapy feel like a team effort where reflection and practice lead to clearer choices. People who come for help with anxiety, depression, trauma, addictions, relationship struggles, or attention challenges can expect collaborative planning and measurable steps. Sessions focus on what to try next and how to track progress over time.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online sessions
Michael uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and try new behaviors. CBT often involves short exercises and homework that fit well into video or messaging-based work.He also draws on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing to address traumatic memories by guiding processing techniques during sessions. EMDR in an online setting focuses on safe pacing, emotional regulation, and step-by-step processing tailored to the person's needs.
Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what feels doable, then adjust methods as progress unfolds. That partnership helps match skills-based work or processing approaches to real-life priorities.
Online formats offer flexibility for how and when work happens. Video calls allow for face-to-face conversation and interactive exercises. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth or camera use is limited. Live chat and text-based messaging can support brief check-ins, skill practice, and ongoing coaching between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy routines while keeping treatment focused on practical steps and measurable change.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Also listed
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating disorders
- Family conflicts
- Forgiveness
- Impulsivity
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Men's issues
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sleeping disorders
- Stress, Anxiety
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 10 years
- Licensed
- Michigan, Oregon
- Languages
- English
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