Michele "Shelly" Virva, LMSW

Michele "Shelly" Virva is a licensed social worker who uses approachable, practical methods to help people manage stress, anxiety, addiction, trauma, and depression. She works from a strengths-based stance and treats each person as the expert on their own life. Shelly aims to make the first steps toward change feel manageable and supported.

Shelly brings 20 years of experience in clinical work across a range of concerns. She helps people facing life transitions, workplace strain, and caregiver stress. Common issues she addresses include mood disorders, post-traumatic stress, and problems related to substance use and recovery.

Her sessions focus on clear, doable strategies. Michele commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people spot unhelpful thinking and build different behaviors. She also draws on client-centered techniques to keep conversations grounded in each person’s priorities.

Mindfulness practices and solution-focused steps often appear in her work when clients need tools for day-to-day coping or quick progress toward specific goals. Motivational Interviewing can help people find internal motivation for change, especially around addictions and health behavior.

Shelly sees people across a variety of life stages in Michigan and conducts sessions in English. She aims for straightforward, respectful conversations that lead to concrete changes and better coping with life’s challenges.

Practical approaches for online therapy and coping

Michele integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Client-Centered Therapy into online work. CBT involves identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing practical behavior changes to reduce anxiety or depressive symptoms. Client-centered work keeps the focus on each person’s goals and priorities, using reflective listening and collaborative planning.

She also brings mindfulness techniques into sessions to teach simple skills for grounding and managing stress. These practices can help people notice strong emotions without getting overwhelmed and build tolerance for difficult moments.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Shelly will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t worked before. Together they choose methods and set small, achievable steps so progress feels real and manageable.

Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video sessions let people use visual cues for deeper conversation, while phone sessions use less bandwidth and can fit into a break at work. Live chat or messaging works well for brief check-ins, sharing thoughts between sessions, or when writing feels easier than speaking.