Dr. Micaela Miller

Hi, I'm Dr. Micaela Miller. I'm a doctoral-level clinician specializing in developmentally attuned, attachment-centered therapy for children and adolescents, with a strong focus on partnering with caregivers throughout treatment.

I hold a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Clinical Psychology from Capella University and a Master of Science in Professional Counseling from Grand Canyon University. I'm currently licensed as a Professional Counselor (LPC) in Arizona and am preparing for the EPPP as I work toward psychologist licensure.

For my doctoral dissertation, I developed the IDRA Model, an integrative, developmental, and relational framework for working with children and families. IDRA stands for Integrative Developmental Relational Attachment, and it organizes treatment through a simple sequence: regulate, connect, reflect, with caregivers positioned as central agents of change.

In my work, I specialize in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), play therapy, ACT, and EMDR, supporting trauma processing, emotional regulation, secure attachment, and lasting family change.

Above all, I want prospective clients to know that therapy with me is collaborative. Whether I'm working directly with a child or coaching a caregiver through a new skill, my goal is the same: to help you build the safety, connection, and understanding that lasting change is built on.

I provide developmentally attuned, attachment-centered therapy for children and adolescents, partnering closely with caregivers throughout the process. My style is warm, collaborative, and relationally grounded. I move at the pace the child or family needs, rather than forcing insight before safety is established.

My integrated approach helps families regulate, connect, and reflect through play therapy, PCIT, ACT, and EMDR to support trauma processing, emotional stability, secure attachment, and lasting relational change. I specialize in early childhood and family systems work, with particular focus on kids who've experienced relational or developmental disruption, supporting them not in isolation, but alongside the caregivers who are with them every day.

Rather than treating symptoms in a vacuum, I look at the full relational context: how a child regulates, how they connect with the people who care for them, and how both child and caregiver can reflect and grow together. That sequence, regulate, connect, reflect, shapes almost everything I do in session, whether we're in a sand tray, working through an EMDR protocol, or coaching a caregiver through a PCIT skill in real time.

Your first session with me is really about getting oriented for both of us. I want to understand your child (or if you're the client, you) as a whole person: what's going well, what's hard right now, and what your hopes are for treatment. I'll ask about history, routines, relationships, and what's brought you in, but I also want it to feel like a conversation, not an interrogation.

I create a space that's calm, low-pressure, and genuinely warm especially with kids, first sessions often include time for them to just get comfortable in the room, whether that's through play, drawing, or simply talking alongside a parent. For families, I make sure caregivers feel like an active part of the process from day one, since I believe caregivers are often the most powerful agents of change in a child's life.

By the end of the first session, my goal is for you to leave with three things: a sense of being heard, a general roadmap for what treatment might look like, and a feeling of safety because nothing else works well until that foundation is there. From there, we build together: regulating first, connecting next, and reflecting and growing once that trust is established.