About My Approach
Are you struggling to find hope?
The days seem to be longer now. Motivation has been dwindling. In silence, you continue to march on, doing “what needs to be done.”
From the outside looking in, people believe you are “put together.” You hear their compliments, but the voice inside won’t let you accept them. Instead, you hear the shame and inner critic say, “Yeah, but if they knew you.”
Surviving can become Thriving.
While life may not be how you want it to be, you have created ways to survive. Some of those ways are incredibly sophisticated, and some, well, not so much.
While growing up, those coping mechanisms worked well enough. Only now, as an adult, those skills are getting in the way of relationships with your family, interfering with work, and holding you back.
Together, we will lean into the hurt, trauma, emotions, addictive patterns, shame, and the rest of it to begin healing. You will not find judgment here, only compassion and guidance through the hard times. I have had to face the dragons to find the peace and strength I wanted. And I would be honored to walk with you as you face your dragons on your journey to thriving health.
“No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach to hell.”
– Carl Jung
Hi, I’m Michael Medley, LPC
Here’s something about my background.
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and an AZ Board Registered Supervisor. I received my master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. And I have taken additional advanced training with the Gottman Method, Emotional Focused Therapy, sexual compulsivity, infidelity, and EMDR for trauma recovery.
At the beginning of my career, I spent several years working in residential treatment for adolescent sex offenders, doing family therapy, individual counseling, and facilitating groups. These early experiences encouraged me to gain specialized training to work with sexually compulsive behaviors.
In my practice, I use several therapeutic approaches to help increase balance and connection in life. I approach each client without judgment to help guide and develop the cognitive awareness and emotional openness necessary to resolve the trials faced in life, such as addictive or impulsive behaviors, marital conflict, shame, depression, anxiety, and traumas.
For a long time, I have been interested in teaching couples how to recognize and communicate intimate thoughts and feelings in a safe, healthy manner. Utilizing the Gottman Method and Emotional Focused Therapy, we will work through the many challenges that life throws at us.
There are two sides to being human.
Over my years of work, I came to believe that one of life’s greatest blessings is understanding and overcoming our shame. Finding strength in vulnerability allows us to grow in ways not expected.
The above quote by Carl Jung is one of my favorites because it highlights the opposites of human existence. Every person has a shadow, and it is through understanding and integrating the opposites that brings balance to life and mental health.
Be the best you can be!
I enjoy time with my wife and our teenage daughters outside the office.
I consider myself a blue-collar man working a white-collar job (which I believe helps me have better relationships with my clients).
I have worked in construction, been a private investigator, painted houses and murals, and read ancient literature. But I strive most to be a good and decent husband, father, and man.