Kathleen Faber

I've spent 30 years working in some of the harder corners of mental health — public mental health systems, behavioral health leadership, substance use treatment — and what I've carried forward from all of it is this: people heal when they feel genuinely seen. Not processed. Not managed. Seen.I work with adults, adolescents, and seniors who are navigating grief, addiction, anxiety, life transitions, trauma, and sometimes the particular weight that comes with illness, loss, and end-of-life experiences — their own or someone they love. I'm a licensed professional counselor in Michigan with dual master's degrees and advanced training in CBT, trauma-focused therapy, ACT, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing.My approach is practical in the truest sense of that word: I'm here to help you develop skills you can actually use, not just insight that stays in the room. And I take whatever time we need to make sure the work actually fits your life, not just a textbook version of your situation.

I'm person-centered first — which means we start with where you actually are, not where a protocol says you should be. From there, I draw on a range of evidence-based methods: cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, mindfulness-based approaches, and trauma-focused techniques, depending on what fits the person and what the work calls for.I don't believe in a one-size model. Some people need to understand the patterns running their lives. Some need a concrete set of skills to get through the next week. Some need space to grieve something the world around them doesn't have language for. My job is to figure out which of those is true for you — and usually it's some combination — and to build from there.I also believe strongly that people can change even in the most entrenched situations. That's not optimism as a performance. It's what 30 years of watching people move through incredibly hard things has taught me.

The first session is really about you getting a chance to tell your story and me getting a clear picture of what's happening — without any pressure to have it all figured out. I'll ask questions, but I'm not running through a checklist. I'm trying to understand what you're carrying, what's already helped, and what hasn't.By the end, we'll have a shared sense of what you want to work on and what the next few sessions might look like. If you've done therapy before and it wasn't quite right, tell me that — it's useful information, and I'd rather know.Sessions are virtual, so you can join from wherever you're most comfortable.