- Years in practice
- 25
- Credentials
- LMSW
- Licensed in
- Michigan
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Relationship issues
- Focus
- Family conflicts
About Kelly
Kelly Drake is a licensed master social worker with 25 years of practice in clinical settings. She supports parents and individuals dealing with stress, anxiety, trauma, depression, sleep problems, and parenting challenges. Her approach is direct and steady, offering clear guidance while moving at a pace the client can manage.
She began her career working with children and adolescents, focusing on suicide assessment and trauma treatment in the Detroit, Michigan area.
Background and approach
Those early roles included work in community mental health agencies and schools. Her next decade was spent on active duty as an Army officer and social worker, providing suicide risk assessment and trauma-focused care for service members and their families. Kelly uses practical methods drawn from several approaches.
She blends attachment-based ideas with client-centered listening and cognitive behavioral techniques for sleep and symptom management. She also applies psychodynamic perspectives to understand longstanding patterns and solution-focused methods to set achievable steps forward. Her bedside manner is calm and perceptive.
She emphasizes respectful, honest conversations and believes change grows from a reliable therapeutic relationship rather than quick fixes. She aims to be straightforward about what will help and what work is involved. Clients can expect a clinician who values social work as a calling.
She expresses gratitude for the chance to be invited into people’s difficult moments and to help them find clearer ways to cope and move forward.
What Kelly works with
Everything Kelly lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Kelly helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Depression
- Addictions
- LGBT
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- Blended family issues
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Control issues
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self-harm
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Kelly lists
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
How her approaches translate to online care
Kelly often draws on attachment-based therapy to look at how early bonds affect current parenting and relationship patterns. This approach focuses on understanding emotional connections and improving how people relate to those closest to them.She also uses client-centered therapy, which centers on attentive listening and following the client's concerns to set the agenda. Cognitive behavioral therapy is used to identify unhelpful thoughts and try concrete techniques for sleep, anxiety, and behavior change.
Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will work with each person to match methods to their goals, needs, and comfort level, and will adjust the plan as progress or new concerns emerge.
Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to increase flexibility. Video is useful for fuller conversation and visual cues, while phone calls can fit into a work break or require less bandwidth. Chat and messaging let people check in between sessions or use shorter, focused exchanges when that fits a schedule. These options make it easier to build continuity of care and keep therapy going around real-life demands.
Questions people ask about Kelly
What concerns does Kelly help address?
She works with stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, depression, sleep problems, parenting challenges, anger, self-esteem, ADHD, grief, addictions, relationship issues, and related family-of-origin and attachment concerns.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Kelly combines calm, clear listening with straightforward guidance. She moves at a client's pace while being honest about what work is needed for change.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has 25 years of clinical experience across community mental health, school settings, and a decade of active duty service focusing on suicide assessment and trauma care.
What credentials and region are associated with this therapist?
She holds an MI LMSW, which is a Licensed Master Social Worker credential, and is based in Michigan.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available?
Sessions can be conducted via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging depending on client preference.
How does pricing work for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to therapist availability.
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