Michelle L. Fryback, LMFT

“When I accept myself just as I am then I can change” Carl Rogers.  This is one of my favorite quotes.  I have been practicing therapy since 1999.   In my private practice I focus on connection, communication, self-awareness, and understanding and knowing ourselves.  The more we know ourselves and accept all aspects of ourselves the more we can change and grow.  This is the paradox of change.  Throughout my life it has been apparent that I had an inherent gift of intuition, communication and understanding people in a deeper, and more direct way.  I spent a lot of my twenties in a severe depression with overwhelming anxiety.  This difficult life situation resulted in an amazing growth experience, as I went to therapy and began extensive work on myself.  I know what it feels like to have been through trauma, or in an unhappy relationship, and feel depressed and anxious in life.  I have sat on that couch in a therapist’s office and can appreciate the difficulty in seeking counseling as well as the growth process itself.  I also, have come out the other side and can honestly say I am at peace and experience a wonderful level of contentment in my relationships and personally.  I am a living example of how effective therapy can be and that people can really change.  It is important that I “walk the walk and talk the talk”. I have spent my life exploring and studying communication, relationships, personally, spiritually and professionally.  This is my passion and my gift.

I hold a MA in Marriage and Family Therapy and am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the California.  I am a Certified Gestalt Therapist. This process included 6 years of Gestalt training at the Pacific Gestalt Institute attendance in a Gestalt consult group, counseling with a Gestalt therapist, and a 3-part examination process over 12 months.  My past studies include many years of individual and group counseling under a Gestalt Therapist.  I am a Certified Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapist and attended the Integrative Psychiatry Institute in Bolder CO.  I am very proud of my own therapy and thus knowing myself.  Knowing all aspects of myself has been invaluable in my work with clients.  Currently, I am a member of the Board of Directors at The Gestalt Institute of Los Angeles. I have a consistent meditation practice and use mindfulness with clients.

I have been seeing clients in private practice for over 20 years.  My experience providing therapy for low-income families and foster children at Starview Community Services has also proved a strong foundation in working with conflicted relationships and thus promoting healing and understanding under severe circumstances and trauma. I have also had a re-occurring guest-teaching role in the school-counseling program at Loyola Marymount University.