Michelle Blue, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Anaheim, California
Verified
My Approach to Therapy
I am passionate about women's health. I want to dismantle the internalized systemic oppression of women and ignite the flame of strength and empowerment within.
Through my personal and professional experience, I have come to recognize the overwhelming micro and macro messages that maintain the status quo. Raise your hand if you grew up believing you were more valuable and worthy of love as a virgin. Have you ever been told that it's your responsibility to make your male partner "feel manly"? Or how about believing you have to "tone it down" and present as agreeable to be liked? Better yet, if you have become the "default parent", then we need to talk. Let's get down and dirty in the process of recreating a narrative and relationship with the world that is relentless in these messages.
I believe that through our relationship and work together the way I show up in therapy will serve as a foundation of how boundaries, self-love, and connection will allow for growth. Allow me to join you in your journey of becoming congruent and connected.
Specific Issue(s) I'm Skilled at Helping With
I am skilled at navigating relational issues. Those who have survived childhood traumas and abuse, borderline personality disorder, loved ones of those diagnosed with BPD, mothers struggling with mom guilt and have been identified as the "default parent", and individuals who find themselves unable to feel fulfilled and connected to those around them. I am skilled with boundary-setting, congruent communication, assertiveness, and dismantling internalized systemic oppression.
My Role as a Therapist
My role is to support you in realizing your own growth potential as a congruent and connected human being. I am collaborative and will support the trajectory you choose to take in your life. I value autonomy and respect your choices for your own life. Unsure about taking medications? I'll give you all of the information I can; good and bad. I want you to make an informed decision. Considering medication? I'll support you in locating a psychiatrist and support you through every appointment by checking in on side effects and management; also guide you on communication with medical professionals to get your needs met. I'll act as an advocate to support you with your medical professionals if needed. Decided that medication is not for you? Let's work on skills, tools, resources, and social supports to feel empowered to keep yourself contained and safe. As long as safety is ensured, then I do not hold any agenda on "what's right" because I hold as truth that I am not all-knowing of what is right or wrong for any person.
How My Own Struggles Made Me a Better Therapist
I am a sexual abuse survivor. I am married to a wonderful human being with borderline personality disorder. I am the child of a narcissistic parent. I have experienced homelessness. I am a woman who has had personal experiences of being shamed as a mom, being sexually active, and speaking my mind. My life experiences help me to see your suffering and I am not afraid of it. I do not shy away from your pain or hopelessness.
Why Going to Therapy Does Not Mean You are Weak or Flawed
Listen. A therapist should have their own therapist. And if you were to put in the effort of identifying who your therapist's therapist is and that therapist's therapist to their therapist; following the line all the way up, you will finally find The Grand Therapist who holds all of us in their heart of perfect compassion and trauma-informed containment.
Importance of the Client-Therapist Alliance
Trust is at the top of the priority list of good therapy. I am a human being, regardless of my stature as a licensed professional, who recognizes that I have to put in the work to earn your trust as anyone else. I will show up as consistent, reliable, patient, and nonjudgmental. I believe that when trust is present, any therapeutic work and progress is obtainable.
Expertise & Specialties
Age Groups I Work With
Adults
Groups I Work With
Women, borderline personality (BPD) or have a loved one who is, first responders, healthcare workers, moms
Therapy Services & Specialties
Concerns & Challenges Addressed
Adjusting to Change / Life TransitionsAnxietyAttachment IssuesBorderlineCaregiver Issues / StressCommunication ProblemsFirst RespondersPosttraumatic Stress / Trauma
Therapeutic Approaches & Evidence-Based Methods
Experiential TherapyEye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)Feminist TherapyGestalt TherapyPsychodynamic
Industries & Communities
Entertainment IndustryFirst Responder/Medical ProfessionalsLGBTQ+Self-Employed and Freelance Professionals