Michali Friedman

Therapist, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, LCSW-C

Virtual Sessions
Phone Sessions

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Michali Friedman Licensed Clinical Social Worker - Therapist, MD & Online

Embrace Yourself. Embrace Each Other. Embrace Life.

Michali Friedman's style

💙 Warm 💡 Solution-oriented 🥇 Empowering 🌎 Holistic 🧘 Calm

Why Michali Friedman chose to be in the helping profession

My motivation for being a psychotherapist comes from the awe and inspiration I feel when I witness shifts and transformation in people’s lives. Now of course, here is where I am going to say “no pressure!”

When a client aka human being walks into my virtual office, I have zero expectations and assumptions about who they are, what their goals should or should not be, and what life decisions they should make. That is never the place of a therapist, or any other person for that matter.

When I say I get inspired by transformation I mean I am moved by what we consider the little things. Little things that are actually really big things, like saying no when we have the habit of saying yes too much, choosing self-compassion over self-criticism for a mistake we’ve made, bravely examining shame or fear we may have about intimacy or our bodies.

I have the easy job of teaching others these skills for relationships and life whether it’s in the categories of dating, communication, problem solving, or sexuality. My clients have the hard task of learning and applying these skills to their hourly lives. Seeing those efforts, that courage, the wanting, the strength, that’s inspiring.

People think being a psychotherapist is depressing: “how can you listen to people’s problems all day?” I see it as the opposite: “why wouldn’t I want to sit across from another fellow human and get to learn their inner worlds and see how they grow and transform, one step at a time?” That’s why I’m a therapist.

Michali Friedman's approach

My approach to therapy is collaborative. My clients and I work together to identify goals, build awareness on patterns and processes that hurt or help these goals, and develop the skills to accomplish these goals. Thankfully, there are many modalities to pull from for session be it psychodynamics, emotionally focused therapy, solution focused therapy, internal family systems, or sex therapy. I like to stay flexible with the modalities so that each person I work with gets the benefit of each one at the appropriate time.

What you can expect from sessions with Michali Friedman

The relationship between a therapist and client is called a therapeutic relationship, and this term highlights exactly how I approach each and every session. The ‘therapeutic’ part of this term signifies the professionalism with which we at Embrace Therapy conduct therapy. This means that we are lifelong learners of our profession, consistently learning new tools and strategies to best service our clientele. The ’relationship’ part of the term means that we have an actual relationship with each client, with all the feelings, boundaries, and dynamics that that word entails. The beauty of therapeutic relationships is that because it’s professional and based on evidenced-based practices, clients get to experience what it feels like to be in a healthy relationship. And in a healthy context, there is real safety, space, and freedom to grow and evolve.

Michali Friedman's experience working with the Jewish community

While we service clientele from all backgrounds, our work has mostly served the Jewish community. We are culturally competent which means we understand the particular nuances, strengths, and struggles that those in the Jewish community face. This also means that we are incredibly careful to not make any assumptions based on religion or religious family culture. Instead, we maintain a deep sensitivity and understanding of how our culture and/or religion can impact our lives in profound ways.