About Michael
Michael Mcbrearty is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) with 20 years of experience. He offers a warm, accepting, and nonjudgmental presence to help people cope with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, addictions, and ADHD. He works in New Jersey and conducts sessions in English.
He combines practical methods from cognitive behavioral therapy with mindfulness and motivational interviewing. Sessions focus on clear goals, small steps, and tools you can start using right away.
Background and approach
Many people come for help with relationships, self-esteem, intimacy concerns, or major life transitions. His style is straightforward and supportive. He aims to create a space where people feel heard and respected.
Conversations center on identifying what’s getting in the way and trying concrete strategies to change patterns. Michael earned his Master of Social Work from Rutgers University and holds LCSW credentials in New Jersey and New York. He also has credentialing in alcohol and substance use work in New York.
Over two decades he has worked with a wide range of concerns, including trauma-related stress and coping with caregiving demands. Sessions may include skills practice, mindful awareness exercises, and motivational conversations to boost readiness for change. People meet to talk through immediate problems and to build longer term habits that reduce distress and improve daily functioning.
How therapy approaches translate to online care
Michael often draws on cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness therapy in online sessions. CBT focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing them with practical experiments, which helps with anxiety, depression, and ADHD-related challenges. Mindfulness therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce reactivity and improve focus during daily tasks.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to see which methods fit their goals and preferences. Sessions usually start with short goals and adjustments are made over time so the plan stays useful and realistic.
Online therapy is offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make care more flexible. Video lets you work face to face and practice skills in real time. Phone sessions use less bandwidth and can fit into a work break. Live chat and messaging are useful for brief check-ins or for people who prefer writing between sessions. These options help people fit therapy into busy lives without long commutes.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Grief
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 20 years
- Licensed
- New Jersey, New York
- Languages
- English
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