- Years in practice
- 3
- Credentials
- LPC
- Licensed in
- Missouri
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Addictions
- Focus
- Trauma and abuse
About Michael
Michael Cotter is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) based in Missouri who focuses on parenting concerns along with stress, anxiety, addiction, trauma, and depression. He keeps language straightforward and meets people where they are. He aims to make conversations practical and useful for daily life.
Michael uses a client-centered style that centers the person's goals and values. He draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people spot and change patterns of thinking and behavior.
Background and approach
He also uses motivational interviewing to boost willingness for change and existential ideas to work through meaning and values. Clients can expect sessions that focus on real problems, like coping with relationship friction, parenting strain, substance use concerns, grief, and work stress. Michael pays attention to how past family issues and fatherhood questions affect current choices.
He also supports people dealing with anger, low self-esteem, and feelings of emptiness. Michael brings three years of professional counseling experience and holds the LPC credential. He worked for years in addiction settings and continues to include substance use and its ripple effects in his practice.
Sessions are offered in English and conducted from Missouri. Therapy with Michael tends to be collaborative and paced to the individual. He uses short-term, solution-focused steps when that fits, and deeper trauma work when needed.
Conversations are aimed at practical change - clearer communication, manageable routines, and decisions that match personal values.
What Michael works with
Everything Michael lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Michael helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Trauma and abuse
- Parenting issues
- Depression
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Blended family issues
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dissociation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Michael lists
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Existential Therapy
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Motivational Interviewing
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online care
Client-Centered Therapy places the client's goals and values at the center of each session. The therapist listens closely, reflects what he hears, and shapes sessions around what matters most to the person seeking help. This approach helps with parenting stress, relationship friction, and motivation to change.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing practical behavioral changes. In short, clients learn to notice patterns, try new responses, and track what works. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, substance use habits, and everyday parenting challenges.
Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with the client about goals, preferences, and what feels useful, then try methods that fit those needs. Sessions can shift over time from brief problem-solving to deeper work if that becomes necessary.
Online therapy offers flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video is useful for face-to-face conversation and full discussion. Phone sessions can be a simpler option when bandwidth is limited or a quieter check-in is needed. Live chat and text are helpful for short check-ins, homework tracking, or ongoing support between longer sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule and keep progress moving forward.
Questions people ask about Michael
What kinds of problems does this therapist address?
He helps with stress, anxiety, addictions, trauma, depression, parenting strain, relationship and family issues, grief, anger, low self-esteem, career concerns, bipolar symptoms, ADHD, and related challenges.
What is the therapeutic style like?
He works in a client-centered, collaborative way and uses practical, solution-focused steps alongside cognitive behavioral ideas and motivational interviewing to support change.
What relevant experience does the therapist have?
He has three years of professional counseling experience and additional background working in addiction-focused settings prior to current practice.
Where is the therapist located and what credential do they hold?
He practices in Missouri and holds the LPC credential, listed as MO LPC.
Which languages and international clients are supported?
Sessions are offered in English. International clients are not currently accepted.
What session formats are available?
Sessions can be conducted via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different needs and schedules.
How is cost handled for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with this therapist?
Click the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule a session according to the therapist's availability.
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