蘑菇视频

Michelle Byrd is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), as well as a Washington State Approved Clinical Supervisor and Child Mental Health Specialist.

As a counselor educator, Michelle has taught a range of counselor education courses within a master’s level curriculum. Along with skills training and case conceptualization instruction, Michelle has provided direct clinical supervision to master’s level clinicians in clinical training settings, both as a site supervisor and instructor. Michelle’s approach as an instructor is informed by experience in clinical settings as a practicing clinician and clinical supervisor, as well as by personal experience as a graduate student and adult learner. Within each teaching opportunity, Michelle seeks to provide the right amount of structure and freedom to facilitate students in exploring their learning perspectives reflectively and critically, in respectful discourse with one another, and with Michelle as their instructor and future colleague.

Michelle’s teaching philosophy is in part inspired by John Dewey’s definition of two purposes for education: “(1) preparing citizens to be critical thinkers in a democracy and (2) encouraging learners to promote good for all citizens.” It is also informed by a conscious synthesis and exploration of adult learning as an activity that aligns with core values, including the facilitation and modeling of critical analysis, discourse, and helping clinicians in training to tolerate the experience of not knowing in order to acquire the experience and confidence to strive for expertise. This synthesis is also informed by Knowles’s (2015) andragogical model for adult learning, which emphasizes that adults learn best in informal, comfortable, flexible, and nonthreatening settings. The model also underscores that adult learners need to know why they are learning something before engaging in it, and that they acquire competencies through both experiential and academic endeavors, while also developing the ability to hold multiple perspectives.

Michelle’s academic research has explored the experiences of supervisees via Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), including a 2022 dissertation titled Pre-Licensed Counselor and Therapist Experiences of Effective and Multiculturally Competent Clinical Supervision. Current research includes a collaboration with a Drama and Performance Scholar on a project to explore and produce a research-informed one-act play dramatizing the impact of Artificial Intelligence in Counseling and Therapy, which will likely include some elements of the impacts of Clinical Supervision.

In addition to teaching and research, Michelle maintains a small private practice, meeting with clients and supervisees both in person in the Seattle area and via telehealth services throughout Washington State. As a clinician, Michelle has worked with individual adults and young adults, as well as children, couples, and families, addressing stress, anxiety, depression, trauma (including sexual and physical abuse), relationship challenges, and health-related concerns. As a clinical supervisor and consultant, Michelle provides pre-licensure oversight for postgraduate clinicians completing their Washington State licensure requirements and offers consultation for licensed clinicians regarding client care, counselor development, and wellness. Through years of supervision, Michelle has contributed to the evolving best practices of clinical supervision in the helping professions, witnessing trainees develop into confident, effective clinicians and professional colleagues. Supervisees often describe Michelle as knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and firm, while also bringing curiosity, cultural humility, appropriate humor, and empathy to the work.

A lifelong Seattle resident, Michelle enjoys the many opportunities for entertainment and recreation in the area, including live music, film festivals, and baseball games. Michelle also appreciates the city’s parks and beaches as peaceful spaces to walk or read. With close family ties to Southeast Alaska, Michelle considers it a second home and visits as often as possible.