Dr. Michael Love

I'm a clinical psychologist residing in the mountains of Southwest Virginia, where I came to start my education in 1998 at Virginia Tech, and where I stayed to complete my graduate training at nearby Radford University. Since then, I've worked in community mental health, college counseling, and private practice, with a brief stint in neuropsychology along the way. I've also been an assistant professor at Radford and at Roanoke College. I think of myself as a generalist (meaning I like to work with a broad range of clients and issues), but have had the most experience with mood and anxiety disorders, trauma, substance use disorders, and LGBTQ+ issues. When not practicing, I devote my time to family, dogs, video games, tabletop RPGs, cooking, and badly writing electronic music.

l I firmly believe that most psychotherapy approaches are different ways of thinking about the same process - creating greater psychological flexibility and freedom to break unhelpful habits and to make choices based on what's actually important to us. In order to do this, we need to learn about ourselves better and to understand how we've learned to handle life in the way that we do. A lot of what we think of as "symptoms" are really just coping mechanisms that we learned at an earlier time, but which no longer serve us well. A lot of different tools can help us to develop this awareness - we'll spend time figuring out which techniques are right for you. In more formal terminology, I am a psychodynamic therapist at heart, but I utilize a lot of techniques from ACT, Motivational Interviewing, and Coherence Therapy, as well. I'm not dogmatic about theories and techniques, preferring to think practically. I believe strongly in the use of evidence-based practice, appropriately adapted for different cultural factors and personal preferences.

My goal with each session is to have you leave with some bit of self-knowledge you didn't have before. Over time, these will open opportunities for you to break patterns of behavior that don't serve you well. In some cases I will prescribe homework that can involve journaling, reflection, meditation, lifestyle modification, and other techniques.