Michelle Richardson, MSW, LCSW
She/her/hers
Mindful Soul Center for Wellbeing Founder & CEO
EMDR Certified Therapist & EMDRIA Approved Consultant
Certified Internal Family Systems Therapist & IFS-Informed EMDR Certified Practitioner – Master
Michelle is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of NJ and has founded two psychotherapy businesses – her group practice, Mindful Soul Center for Wellbeing, located in Haddon Heights and Medford, NJ – and Syzygy Institute, a training institute for therapists learning to integrate EMDR and IFS therapy modalities, co-founded with Bruce Hersey, LCSW.
For nearly twenty years in the field, Michelle has been witness to the incredible power of connection, healing, and empowerment, as both a psychotherapist, a client herself, and a trusted mentor and consultant to many others in the psychotherapy profession. The world needs compassionate, well-trained, and committed therapists and Michelle has thoughtfully hand-picked her staff so that the clients of Mindful Soul Center for Wellbeing can find that trusted person to help walk beside them on their path of self-discovery and growth.
Therapy with Michelle
Michelle views her role as a therapist as being a lighthouse instead of a life raft, shining light on new ideas and perspectives rather than making short-term fixes that might not be sustainable. With mindful awareness, self-compassion, and guidance, she believes that people can tap into the inner wisdom of Self-Energy and Self-Leadership to repair, heal, and create a more harmonious relationship with themselves and the world around them.
The more we can cultivate curiosity and compassion towards ourselves, the more we can heal our wounds.
-Richard Schwartz
As a highly trained women’s trauma specialist, Michelle works with women suffering from PTSD, complex childhood and relational trauma, dissociative disorders, anxiety, and other types of emotional conditions. Often times, we are not even aware that the issues we face in the present actually stem from past experiences that were painful and never truly repaired. Clients that work with Michelle discover new insights and awareness to the challenges that they face; and with that awareness comes a clearer and more compassionate path towards healing. Michelle’s primary treatment modalities are EMDR and IFS therapies. She is also trained in Polyvagal Theory and is a Safe and Sound Protocol Provider through Unyte.
Currently, Michelle is only available for the following:
Discovery Sessions: There are times in the therapeutic process where we – perhaps both therapist and client – might feel a little stuck or unclear on what direction to follow. Discovery sessions are a collaborative process that typically include a consultation between Michelle and the referring therapist and 1-4 client sessions of brief and targeted IFS-Informed EMDR therapy with Michelle. These sessions will focus on identifying and potentially reducing blocks and gaining overall clarity on treatment planning. Discovery sessions are available on a limited basis throughout the year based on Michelle’s schedule.
IFS-Informed EMDR Intensives: Coming in mid-2024! An EMDR intensive is a concentrated period of EMDR therapy sessions that are scheduled close together, often over the course of several consecutive days or a week. For example, instead of weekly, one hour therapy sessions, an EMDR intensive might be completed in 4 hour blocks. This can allow individuals to engage in the process more fully, providing a sense of continuity and momentum in the therapeutic process, and ideally, achieve results more quickly. The appropriateness of an EMDR intensive is determined on an individual basis, considering the individual’s specific needs and circumstances. Prospective clients with previous experience doing EMDR and IFS or another variation of parts work will be best suited for intensives with Michelle.
Please note that a portion or all of these services might not be covered by insurance.
EMDR Consultation Services for Therapists Seeking EMDRIA Certification
The goal of EMDR consultation should not just be to clock the necessary hours required, but to gain more confidence, competence, and skill to match the passion you already bring into the therapy room with your clients. Michelle is a Certified EMDR Therapist and EMDRIA Approved Consultant. She offers individual and group EMDR consultation services for therapists working towards certification or those wanting to refresh and fine-tune their skills. EMDR consultation meetings, offered in person or virtually, are an opportunity to gain clarity and direction with even the most difficult cases. As your comfort and skill level with EMDR improves, you will learn to more intuitively respond and attune to your clients, overcome barriers and blocks, and support your clients with more flexibility and confidence using EMDR Therapy.
IFS-Informed EMDR Consultation Services for Therapists Seeking Certification through Syzygy Institute
Michelle’s curious learner parts led her to one of Bruce Hersey’s early iterations of his IFS-Informed EMDR Workshops. There, as a newly trained IFS therapist that felt polarized with her EMDR roots, she softly landed in the meeting place of two models. Now, as an advanced clinician of IFS-Informed EMDR, Michelle is passionate about helping other therapists both experience the healing energy of Self and offer this to some of the most blended protectors they meet in their sessions with clients.
To request to be added to Michelle’s waitlist for consultation, please email her assistant at Canan@mindfulsoulwellbeing.com.
Michelle has additionally been a featured guest on both the Awaken Your Wise Woman podcast and The Woman Worriers Podcast, where she speaks about Internal Family Systems therapy, anxiety, and the inner critic. She was also a featured guest on the Selling the Couch Podcast with Melvin Varghese, PH.D., Session 137 where she shared about the inception of Mindful Soul Center for Wellbeing and her private practice journey.
Michelle lives with her husband, a teacher, and three active children locally in southern New Jersey. Her “other” job involves lots of time on softball and baseball fields and on the basketball court! Michelle also enjoys exercise, spending time at her family’s cabin in Maine, reading a good mystery, and chocolate.
*Please be advised that at this time, Michelle is not accepting new clients as her schedule is currently full. Here at Mindful Soul, our therapists take pride in their work and would not like to spread themselves too thin and want to ensure the best level of care is offered to all clients.