Michelle Buchanan, LMHC, LMFT
Child, Adolescent, Adult, Parent, Family, Couples Therapist, and Florida Supreme Court Family Law Mediator & Parenting Coordinator
Meet Michelle
LMHC, LMFT
Child, Adolescent, Adult, Parent, Family, and Couples Therapist
Florida Supreme Court Family Law Mediator & Parenting Coordinator
Orlando Office, Clermont Office, Virtual Counseling Sessions Available
Gottman Seven Principles Leader
Michelle is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT). She received her Bachelor’s degree with a double major in Psychology and Law from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and her Master's degree in Clinical Counseling Psychology from Assumption College (In conjunction with The Aaron T. Beck Institute for Cognitive Studies) with an emphasis in Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). Michelle completed her internship at Family Continuity in Massachusetts and her post-graduate internship in Orlando, Florida, after relocating from Massachusetts. Since that time, Michelle has continued to train on various topics, disorders, and psychologically relevant social challenges, incorporating this material into her practice so that her clients can achieve maximum therapeutic benefit.
Michelle offers individual, family, and couples counseling, as well as parenting coordination, Florida Supreme Court-approved family law mediation, and reunification counseling.
Michelle’s treatment approach centers on Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), utilizing an eclectic approach. At the same time, she collaborates with clients to achieve greater peace and fulfillment in their lives, including their careers and relationships. She additionally uses approaches such as DBT, the ComB model, Couples Counseling, Family Mediation, Reunification Treatment, and Parent Coordination.
She continues to incorporate evidence-based interventions into her practice, believing that clients are active partners in the therapeutic process. Throughout treatment, clients learn to become more capable of responding in ways that reduce distress, allowing them to move more effectively toward the life they want. Michelle has both advanced training and extensive experience working with issues such as depression, generalized and social anxiety, grief, ADHD, panic, bi-polar disorder, body-focused repetitive behaviors such as trichotillomania, substance abuse, and borderline personality disorder. Michelle is a member of the TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behavior and accepts clients struggling with trichotillomania and other body-focused behaviors.
Michelle warmly welcomes adolescents and adults who wish to experience a more abundant and meaningful life, working on chronic mental health issues or navigating life circumstances that have left them struggling. Michelle enjoys providing a safe, accepting, and comfortable environment, sincere support, and perhaps a laugh or two along the way, so that therapy empowers the client to achieve their goals and, of course, wellness.
If scheduled for an in-person session at the Clermont Location with Michelle, the address is:
1064 w. Hwy 50, STE. 205, Clermont, FL, 34711
In-Network Insurances
Cigna
Aetna
United
No Insurance?
Michelle offers individual sessions at self pay rates. Sliding Scales are negotiated and approved by the therapist themselves.
Some of Michelle's Specialties
Adolescent Therapy and Young Adult Counseling
“Some adolescents / teenagers and young adults have minor issues and just need a little assistance to get back on their feet and back on track. Whereas some have serious issues such as depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, eating disorders, substance abuse, and body-focused repetitive behaviors (like hair-pulling or skin-picking). Some teens or young adults go to counseling to prevent problems from occurring in the future, and some come to solve current problems or heal from past wounds.
Marriage, Couples Counseling and Family Therapy
Some couples or families need minor adjustments to get back on their feet, and some need a major overhaul to save their relationship, marriage, or family. Some parents and children require more intense work, such as reunification counseling, to repair their relationships, while some coparents need Parent Coordination to learn how to coparent after a divorce. Some families simply need gentle guidance or family and parent coaching, while others need more intensive and specialized interventions like Gottman Couples Therapy. Some couples or families come to counseling to prevent problems from occurring in the future, and some come to solve current problems or heal from past relationship wounds.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT & TF-CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is to unhelpful patterns what clear glasses are to blurry vision. It teaches children, teens, and adults to notice how thoughts, feelings, and actions work together—like three gears—so they can shift from stuck to steady. In CBT, we learn simple, practical steps: catch the thought, check the facts, choose a fairer thought; calm the body with breathing and grounding; and take small, doable actions that lift mood and confidence.”
“Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT) uses the same tools with extra care for safety and trauma memories. We build coping skills first, then gently tell and ‘right-size’ the story of what happened so the brain can file it where it belongs instead of letting it replay. Caregivers are included to support healing at home. The goal in both: fewer spirals, more skills, and a clear plan for feeling and functioning better.”