LMFT
ABOUT
Michelle Vercelli, LMFT
I specialize in children and adolescents using an eclectic approach to therapy including CBT, EMDR, Mindfulness, Art Therapy and Play Therapy. Every child is unique therefore, every treatment approach is specialized for that child's unique experience.
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Michelle Vercelli, MA, LMFT
License #77569
My Philosophy
When we look through a kaleidoscope, we see a unique view of colors and crystals that can easily be changed with a single movement, a twist, or tilt. Every view is unique and appealing in its own way.
My approach to treating children and adolescents is to recognize that every perspective is unique and meaningful to each one of them. I believe that every child has a basic need to be heard. I provide a safe, non-judgmental place for them to express their unique views of the world and their experiences. The most valuable gift a child can receive is the validation of their experiences and feelings.
TESTIMONIALS
Parents Recommend
Mother of Female Teenage Patient
My daughter was matched with Michelle at a previous practice she worked for. We followed her to her private practice because of the connection she made with my daughter. Michelle took great care to help my daughter educate us on the importance of mental health and crafting the right treatment plan. She made sure that all of us were involved in her treatment which was crucial to her success.
They worked together for 2.5 years, and Michelle is still involved in my daughters life. I am grateful to Michelle for helping us get our daughter back.
Mother of a female child patient
My daughter has worked with six different therapists for anxiety for over 8 years. Due to her social anxiety and Cognitive Processing Disorder, she never benefited from therapy and never built a trusting relationship with the other therapists. They all stuck with their standard practice of therapy which does not work with my daughter.
Michelle was the only one who took the time to understand my daughter and her needs. She knew my daughter loved dogs and started building a relationship by going for a walk with my daughter and her dog. Then she gradually introduced her to EMDR, which she also went to great lengths to tailor to my daughter. Within a year, we have seen definite improvement and my daughter enjoys working with Michelle. I am surprised that more therapists working with teenagers don't design their therapy to fit a child's personality and needs.
Mother of Male Child Patient
My 8 year old Autistic son has been working with Michelle for the last few months for his extreme anxiety and panic attacks. Communicating and meeting new people are major issues. Michelle learned he loves dinosaurs and animals, which she uses to make him comfortable with sessions and get him to open up about his feelings.
Michelle uses a hands on approach and EMDR has helped him tremendously.
She uses crafts, games and activities to give the appearance of having fun while actively working through his worries, fears and other emotions.
He has made tremendous progress. She has helped him get to a place of expressing his feelings and he has learned to control his panic attacks with breathing exercises.
Male Teen Patient
I have seen Michelle for two years. I was nervous and didn't know what to expect at first. She pays close attention to me and picks up on what my needs are. She makes therapy fun. Sometimes we play cards at the end of our sessions. I like Michelle.
Individual Psychotherapy
Individual therapy can aid children and teens by receiving emotional support, learning to resolve conflicts, gaining an understanding of their feelings, and problems and trying out new solutions to problems. Goals for therapy can include, change in behavior, improved relations with friends or family, or a decrease in anxiety and improved self-esteem. Psychotherapy relies on communication to bring about change in a child's feelings and behaviors. Communication can come in many forms. Talking, playing, drawing, and coloring are just a few ways that a child can express and share feelings.
CBT Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or C.B.T., is a form of therapy that uses cognitive restructuring to identify and challenge negative and irrational thoughts; these thoughts are called cognitive distortions. An irregular amount of cognitive distortions can be linked to anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. The CBT approach leverages the strong link between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to treat depression and anxiety.
Mindfulness and Creative Therapy
Mindfulness decreases depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress in children and teens, as well as increasing self-compassion and acceptance. Research shows that living in the moment, getting out of your head, and being present in your surroundings decreases feelings of sadness and anxiety.
Play therapy is used to treat children who are unable to express or identify their feelings or thoughts. Play therapy is helpful to get children to reflect and learn from their mistakes. Through play therapy, children learn to communicate with others, express feelings, modify behavior, develop problem-solving skills, and develop a toolset of ways to relate to others.
Family Therapy
“I want to love you without clutching, appreciate you without judging, join you without invading, invite you without demanding, leave you without guilt, criticize you without blaming, and help you without insulting. If I can have the same from you, then we can truly meet and enrich each other.” ~ Virginia Satir
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A child or teen's emotional or behavioral problems can be influenced or stem from family experiences. Family therapy can help a family improve communication and resolve conflicts. Behavior contracts and parent training are just some of the techniques that can help families address the child's individual needs but improve dynamics within the family.
EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a proven method to aid in the recovery from trauma and benefiting those suffering from PTSD, anxiety, depression, and panic disorders.
The American Psychiatric Association, the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs/Dept. of Defense, The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the World Health Organization among many other national and international organizations recognize EMDR therapy as an effective treatment.
EMDR allows for the brain to perform its natural healing process on the trauma. This natural process is a communication between the amygdala, the hippocampus, and the prefrontal cortex. To stimulate these areas a patient can follow a light back and forth, hold buzzers in their hands, or listen to sounds; they are equally effective. Sometimes EMDR can accelerate treatment because there isn’t a need to collect an entire backstory, a multi-session event. The result of EMDR does not eliminate the memory of the traumatic event but removes the emotional response. Finally, EMDR can be useful in curing sleep disturbances and terrors.
Getting Help
Children and teens are dealing with so much in the current environment. Academic pressure, social media, peers are just a few of the many challenges that they face. Treating a child's mental health is as important as treating their physical health. Promoting a child’s mental health means helping a child feel secure, relate well with others and foster their growth at home and at school. We do this by helping to build a child’s confidence and competence - the foundation of strong self-esteem. This can be achieved by providing a child with a safe and secure home; warmth and love; respect; caring and trusting relationships with family, friends, and adults in the community; opportunities to talk about experiences and feelings; time to play, learn, and succeed; encouragement and praise; and consistent and fair expectations with clear consequences for misbehavior. Seeking professional help does not mean you are not a good parent or have given up, it means that you are seeking the help of a professional to help you help your child. It is gift that you can give to them that will help them for the rest of their life.