Walking alongside you to explore your story, strengthen your resilience, and embrace your fullest potential.
Hi, I’m Michele, a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and the founder of Coffee Talk Therapy. I work with children, teens, young adults, adults, couples, and families, helping them build deeper connection through effective communication, grace, and understanding, while appreciating each individual’s uniqueness and recognizing their gifts and talents.
Before entering the counseling field, I spent 25 years as a child development and behavioral specialist, supporting children, families, and educators while advocating for early intervention. I also create and facilitate continuing education trainings and workshops for child development professionals and parents, and I serve as a speaker at early childhood conferences across the state, promoting creative classrooms, social-emotional learning, and a healthy work-life balance for educators.
Through both my professional and volunteer work, I have developed a deep passion for people, their stories, and their inherent worth. I believe every individual has something meaningful to offer the world, and as a therapist, I am honored to walk alongside them as they discover this truth.
I grew up on a horse farm in a small town in Michigan and moved to Portland, Maine during my junior year of high school, returning to Michigan after graduation. In 1989, I moved to North Carolina to join a musical theater group based in Cary, where I met my husband, David. At my core, I’m a farm-animal-loving musical theater kid who wears jeans to the opera and I proudly embrace being eclectic, artsy, and neurodivergent.
Throughout my life, I’ve had the privilege of connecting with people of all ages, each carrying their own unique stories. I’ve volunteered as a mentor to teens and adults, worked with individuals with autism and developmental or intellectual disabilities, served as an activity director in a nursing home (I’m excellent at calling out bingo numbers), and participated in mission work with underserved populations. These experiences, spanning the full lifespan of human development, have deeply shaped my compassion for others and ultimately inspired me to continue my education and become a therapist.
MY STORY
As your therapist, my goal is to walk alongside you as you rediscover your worth, gifts, and talents. Together, we will explore the experiences that have shaped how you see yourself, others, and the world around you, while building resilience, strengthening coping skills, shifting perspectives, and learning to set healthy boundaries. Our work will focus on creating meaningful goals and practical strategies that support a more balanced, connected life; one that leaves room for joy.
MY GOAL
THE BEST PART OF NC RENN FAIRE
Working with Michele feels authentic, supportive, and empowering. She partners with clients to explore their experiences, uncover patterns that may be holding them back, and develop practical tools for managing emotions, relationships, and life’s challenges. Honest and intuitive, Michele makes therapy feel like a comfortable conversation even when addressing difficult topics. Whether you are navigating anxiety, building confidence, reconnecting with creativity, or rebuilding important relationships, she helps clients gain insight, strengthen coping skills, and move forward with clarity and intention.
WHAT CLIENTS ARE SAYING
Children (ages 4-12) Teens, Young Adults and Individuals
Both in person and telehealth
WHO I WORK WITH
Blue Cross, Aetna, Cigna, United Health Care and private pay
Approved provider for North Carolina State Employees BHAP Program
INSURANCE
“Michele provided me a space to share my feelings about and feel safe towards my troubled home situation. Through her guidance I was able to accept my past experiences and rebuild relationships that were suffering. I’ll always be grateful to Michele for building the confidence I needed to reach my long term goals.”
- ANGELA, COFFEE TALK CLIENT