Michelle Latorres

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Licensed State: New York

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What should I know about working with you?

Ever since I was in my mid-late teenage years, I knew that I wanted to study psychology in order to better understand people as I knew, firsthand, how it felt to want to be understood. With having the desire and drive to understand how others may experience life situations, such as through learning about their history, worldviews, and beliefs, I have thus been able to sit with individuals through their  life challenges, their discomfort, and their yearning to grow in order to help them strive towards the changes that they want for themselves. I firmly believe that we must first understand others before being quick to jump in and help, or save, in order to have accuracy and empathy developed to see what directions the individual may want to take things next. In addition to this, I truly enjoy creating a nonjudgmental and safe environment where individuals can present in sessions as their authentic selves with the hope that they can then show up in more settings and situations across their lives as their true, authentic selves and feel empowered to do so. 

What is your approach to therapy?
Over the years of practicing therapy, one approach that has remained at the core of my practice has been Person-Centered Therapy (PCT). Through the use of PCT, I demonstrate unconditional positive regard towards clients throughout all of the challenges and triumphs that they share with me. I enjoy supporting clients in being able to view major transformational changes that they have made even in what can feel like “just a baby step.” I believe that embracing all of these kinds of moments with clients can demonstrate to them that they are worthy of being acknowledged, celebrated, and cared for no matter what circumstances could be occurring in their lives and what stage of change that they could be at. With having person-centered therapy at the core of my practice, I also find it easier to employ other approaches in a more eclectic manner where I tailor therapy to each client’s individual needs. Some other approaches that I am drawn to using include Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Somatic Experiencing Therapy. Whether it has been through teaching clients relaxation and/or somatic experiencing strategies, assisting them in using assertive communication skills, or challenging them to reframe unhelpful thinking patterns, my goal as a therapist remains the same: to help clients uncover their innate capabilities that can facilitate their growth and progress towards the lives that they want for themselves.

How do your core values shape your approach to therapy?

My core values include having compassion, empathy, genuineness and open-mindedness. With having these as my core values, it allows me to be able to show up in the therapy room as my authentic self, with hope that my clients can also feel empowered to be who they truly are while working towards having the open-mindedness to explore areas of growth that they want to tap into. A few other important values that I have include valuing education, or staying informed on current psychological studies and/or new forms of therapy, community/relationships as I find having these to be essential in helping individuals be able to heal effectively, and being able to have fun and a good sense of humor in order to bring lightheartedness, when appropriate, to the therapy room!

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