Michelle Barichello

Michelle Barichello (she/her/hers):  I am a therapist who embraces empathy, curiosity, understanding, and connection. I believe in the inherent worth and unique strengths of every client. I know that life can be difficult, and that it is easier to navigate life’s challenges when you allow yourself to receive support.

I invite my clients to guide the therapeutic process by showing up as their authentic and full self, processing difficult feelings or past events, and feeling empowered to take on what feels right to them in session and in their lives. I am humbled and honored to join clients on their journey to healing, meaning making, and empowerment.

I utilize a relational, collaborative, and client-centered approach within my therapy work.  I see my clients’ strength and accept them for who they uniquely are. I believe clients are the primary experts on their own life and I aim to create a partnership wherein they feel understood and seen. It is important to help clients address issues in their life that they would like to move away from (e.g. symptoms, stressors), and also identify what they are looking to move towards (e.g. values, aspirations, life goals). I view therapy as a nonjudgmental space where clients can freely express feedback and play an active role in what happens in the therapy room.

Education and Credentials

• PsyD (2023) from Adler University

What do you like to do when you are not working? What do you do for fun?

• I love to travel (when I’m able to) and I try to visit a new city or country each year! When in Chicago, I love to “play tourist” and seek out new restaurants or coffee shops I haven’t been to yet.
• I grew up in Illinois and feel very lucky to have so many close friends and family living nearby. I love to stay connected with them and spend time just catching up.
• I’m a sucker for nostalgia and get so much joy from watching early 2000s movies which is my typical Sunday routine

What are you excited about? What is your passion? What do you want to learn more about?

• I’m very passionate about expanding access to mental healthcare and reducing stigma around mental illness
• Through my research within graduate school, I studied secondary trauma responses and the impacts on professionals who work with individuals who have experienced trauma. I feel very passionate about individuals in client-centered professions (therapists, nurses, lawyers, etc.) receiving both education on and support for secondary trauma responses
• I am passionate about self-compassion, both within my work as a therapist and within my personal life, and am excited to continue learning about this area through Kristen Neff’s work

What do you like about being a therapist?

I feel so honored that through my work I’m able to connect with others and create a space where clients are able to show up as their authentic, messy, complicated selves. I recognize our world does not make it easy to feel and express our true emotions. Instead, we are often met with harshness, from ourselves or others. It is such a privilege that in my work I’m able to join with clients in creating a therapy space that embraces softness, healing, and vulnerability.