Amber Mickelsen, LCSW

Amber Mickelsen is a licensed social worker who helps adults sort through stress, anxiety, grief, and big life changes. She is calm and deliberate in sessions and aims to help people turn insight into real change. Amber holds a Master of Social Work and uses practical, focused conversation to help clients feel steadier. With 13 years of practice as an LCSW, Amber often supports people who already understand their patterns but want help making new choices. She listens for the stories that keep people stuck and helps break those patterns into steps that can be tried between sessions. Sessions move at a reflective, steady pace rather than a rushed one. Her clinical approach blends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and attachment-focused work. That mix is used to notice unhelpful thoughts, practice different responses, and strengthen relationships with self and others. She also draws on client-centered and Dialectical Behavior Therapy ideas when those tools fit. Amber commonly addresses issues such as self-esteem, depression, coping with loss, and decisions about life direction. She also pays attention to concerns tied to attachment, codependency, abandonment, and guilt or shame. Conversations focus on clear steps, experiments, and new ways to practice change in daily life. People who do best with Amber tend to prefer thoughtful sessions with structure and time to reflect. She works collaboratively to set goals and to build skills clients can use outside of therapy. The aim is to move from understanding to lived change.

Therapeutic approaches that translate to online care

Amber draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and try small behavior changes to test new ways of coping. CBT is practical and often focuses on skills that can be practiced between sessions to reduce anxiety and improve mood.

She also uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people clarify values and accept difficult feelings while taking committed action toward a meaningful life. ACT can be helpful when someone wants to stop fighting painful emotions and instead focus energy on chosen goals.

Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work together. Amber partners with clients to choose methods that fit their goals, needs, and comfort level, and she adjusts the plan as progress is made.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues, phone calls can be easier when bandwidth is limited, and chat or text works well for short check-ins, skills practice, or when typing feels more comfortable. These options make it easier to schedule appointments, fit therapy into busy days, and continue work consistently from different locations.