Michelle
Specialties: Adult, Adolescent, Children
Locations: Kingsley Office, Online

Michelle Houghton, LPC

Michelle works with women, adults, and teens who are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, discouraged, or simply unsure of what comes next. Many of her clients are navigating changes in relationships, family life, motherhood, work, or their sense of identity and want a place to step back, understand what they’re feeling, and focus on themselves.

Michelle brings warmth, creativity, and genuine curiosity to therapy. She helps clients better understand themselves, quiet negative self-talk, build confidence, and make intentional choices about how they want to live. Her approach is supportive and collaborative, creating space for both meaningful reflection and practical change.

How Michelle Works

Michelle believes therapy should be personalized to the individual rather than built around a one-size-fits-all approach. She combines evidence-based therapy with mindfulness, self-compassion, creativity, and practical strategies that clients can use in everyday life.

Therapy with Michelle often focuses on:

  • Managing anxiety, stress, and overwhelming emotions
  • Working through depression and periods of feeling stuck
  • Building confidence and a stronger sense of self-worth
  • Quieting negative self-talk and becoming more self-compassionate
  • Navigating motherhood, family relationships, and changing roles
  • Finding greater balance between work, family, relationships, and personal needs
  • Adjusting to life transitions and figuring out what comes next
  • Becoming more intentional about the life you want to create

Michelle draws from approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), while also incorporating mindfulness, emotional awareness, the mind-body connection, intentionality, and creativity.

Her goal isn’t simply to help clients feel better in the moment. She wants clients to develop greater insight into themselves, recognize what’s getting in the way, and feel more confident making choices that reflect who they are and what matters to them.

Areas of Focus

Michelle works with women, adults, and teens experiencing:

  • Anxiety and chronic stress
  • Depression and low mood
  • Low self-esteem and negative self-talk
  • Motherhood and postpartum concerns
  • Work-life balance and feeling overwhelmed
  • Family and parent-child relationship concerns
  • Life transitions and changing roles
  • Identity and personal growth
  • Difficult or powerful emotions

Michelle has a particular understanding of the many roles women carry throughout their lives. Whether someone is adjusting to motherhood, balancing family and career, navigating changing relationships, or entering a new season of life, she provides a place to explore not only what’s difficult, but also what they want for themselves moving forward.

Background and Experience

Michelle has worked in mental health, education, nonprofit leadership, and women’s personal development for more than two decades.

She began her mental health career in 2004 at Burrell Behavioral Health, where she created and oversaw an after-school psychosocial rehabilitation program for children and adolescents experiencing mental health challenges. The program focused on building social skills and peer support and continues to serve Springfield-area families today.

After earning her master’s degree, Michelle became a school counselor with the Ozark School District, working with seventh- and eighth-grade students and providing counseling and other student support services.

In 2015, Michelle co-founded The Bravery Board, a Springfield-based, female-focused podcast and monthly gathering centered on women’s mental health and personal growth. Through the organization, Michelle developed an even deeper understanding of the challenges women experience as they navigate relationships, family, identity, expectations, and the many competing demands of everyday life.

Michelle later stepped away from full-time employment to focus on raising her own family while serving as Director of Chapter Services for Care to Learn, a Missouri nonprofit that works with school districts to meet the health, hunger, and hygiene needs of students.

These varied experiences have given Michelle a unique perspective on the different seasons of life and the ways our roles, relationships, responsibilities, and expectations can shape how we see ourselves.

Education and Therapeutic Approach

Michelle earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Drury University in 2004 and her Master of Science in Counseling and School Counseling from Evangel University in 2009. She became a Licensed Professional Counselor in Missouri in 2018.

Her therapeutic approach incorporates:

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Mindfulness
  • Self-compassion
  • Emotional awareness and emotional intelligence
  • Communication strategies
  • Mind-body awareness
  • Creativity and intentional living

Michelle is a creative thinker who values curiosity, authenticity, and openness to new perspectives. Outside of therapy, she is a self-taught artist and has experience as a speaker, performer, and comedy writer. She also enjoys gardening, running, traveling, and spending time with her family.

What Clients Can Expect

Clients working with Michelle can expect a therapist who is:

  • Warm, approachable, and easy to talk to
  • Creative and open-minded
  • Compassionate without being judgmental
  • Curious about each person’s individual experience
  • Encouraging of insight, growth, and meaningful change
  • Focused on helping clients discover what matters to them

Michelle believes that people are capable of meaningful insight and change at every stage of life. Therapy can be a place to understand where you’ve been, make sense of where you are, and become more intentional about where you want to go next.

You have one wild and beautiful life; what do you want to do with it?

Meet Michelle