Michelle Sams, LCSW

Accepting new clients

Michelle is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with over 25 years of experience working with children and adults in several settings, including therapy, school social work, in-home therapy, and day treatment. She has also previously worked as an adjunct professor in the MSW program at VCU.

Michelle currently works with children 12 and up and adults in individual therapy. As a mother of three adult children, she has an interest in women’s issues, such as parenting, managing stress and relationships, and home/work/life balance. Michelle has worked with teenagers for many years to address behavioral issues and mental health struggles.

Michelle utilizes CBT and psychoanalytic theory and specializes in working with trauma. She has experience working with sexual abuse, domestic violence, and many other traumatic events. Michelle also has experience working with anxiety and depression, grief and loss, work stress, and life transitions. She offers a client-focused practice style and her approach is warm and friendly. Michelle believes change is always possible and a collaborative approach with her clients is essential. She helps problem-solve and explore underlying factors that contribute to client’s current situations, while offering empathy, compassion, and a safe, non-judgmental space to explore feelings. Michelle teaches coping skills and encourages clients to explore self-care strategies, as well as ways to increase support systems.

Specialties

• PTSD/Trauma
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Sexual Abuse
• Teens and School issues
• Grief
• Self-harming
• Women’s Issues
• Relationship issues
• Life transitions
• Parenting issues
• Stress
• Self-esteem
• Work/home/life balance