Therapist Profile

• Michelle R. Ward LPC, LMFT

Michelle is a Virginia State Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT). She is a Clinical Member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. Michelle received her M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Virginia Tech University. She provides outpatient therapy to individuals, couples, and families, using various therapy interventions to treat children with behavior, anger, anxiety and mood management, couples with relationship issues, and families with communication and conflict problems.

Counseling Experience

Michelle's counseling experience includes private agency work with individual, marital, family, and group outpatient therapy to children and adolescents and their families treating depression, anxiety, substance abuse, anger management, social problems, and family functioning. Michelle also has experience providing school counseling to learning and emotionally disabled high school students; outpatient individual and group counseling to sexually abused children and adolescents and sexually reactive boys and girls; intensive in-home family and individual therapy to adolescents and their families, including crisis intervention procedures; psycho-educational group counseling for court ordered and self-referred male perpetrators of domestic violence; inpatient individual and group counseling for patients with critical level mental illness and addictions diagnoses, substance dependence diagnoses, and adolescents with behavioral, emotional, and/or substance abuse issues. Michelle's undergraduate internship involved counseling clients seeking protective orders involving domestic violence, where she educated clients on safety and cycle of violence issues and provided advocate support to clients throughout legal proceedings.

Education

1. Virginia Tech State University, Falls Church, VA. Master of Science, Marriage and Family Therapy.
2. George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. Bachelors of Arts, Psychology.

Professional Organizations

1. American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, Clinical Member, September 1997-present.
2. Virginia Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, Clinical Member, September 1997-present.
3. American Association of Play Therapy, Clinical Member, 2003-present.
4. American Counseling Association, Clinical Member, 2005-present.
5. International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors, Clinical Member, 2005-present.

Awards

1. American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy Graduate Student Research Award. “Clients’ Perceptions of the Therapeutic Process: A Mixed Methods Approach.”

Research

1. Ward, M.R., Linville, D. & Rosen, K. (2007). "Clients' perceptions of the therapeutic process: A common factors approach." Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy.

Publications

1. Ward, M.R. & Linville, D. (2007). "The Angry Feelings Toolbox." In D. Linville & K.M. Hertlein, The Therapist's Notebook for Family Healthcare. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press.
2. Linville, D. & Ward, M.R. (2007). "The Superhero in All of Us." In D. Linville & K.M. Hertlein, The Therapist's Notebook for Family Healthcare. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press.