Insurance:
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Bio:
Dr. Michelle Presley, a licensed clinical psychologist, is passionate about helping her patients experience the sense of well-being that comes from knowing that they can be in control in their lives. No matter the circumstances patients are facing—including chronic illness, serious injury, disability, and complex mental health challenges—she is dedicated to empowering each person to achieve clarity, peace of mind, and a higher quality of life.
Dr. Presley regards each of her patients as the expert on themselves. She sees herself as a knowledgeable, skilled, compassionate guide and resource who accompanies them for a time on their life’s journey. She collaborates with patients feeling overwhelmed by pain and illness, helping them discover inner sources of strength and resilience. She helps patients facing tough transitions and losses experience their grief and move through it. She enables patients who are experiencing setbacks get their feet back under them and move forward.
Through a holistic approach, drawing on evidence-based modalities as appropriate, she helps her patients gain greater clarity—about who they are, what they value most and want for themselves, and how they can persevere to achieve their goals. These modalities primarily include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), while also utilizing aspects of various other evidence-based practices such as motivational interviewing and solution-focused therapy. Her patients acquire perspectives and insights, and master skills and tools, that will serve them well for the rest of their life’s journey.
Dr. Presley enjoys working as part of an interdisciplinary health care team and with family members to bring diagnoses and treatment plans into clearer focus and enhance patient support. She has clinical experience working with adult and young adult patients in a variety of health care settings. In California, she has provided inpatient and outpatient care, via individual therapy and group therapy, to patients with traumatic brain injury, stroke, spinal cord injury, other neurological and psychiatric disorders, and general mental health challenges. In the New Mexico Veterans Affairs Health Care System, she has provided psychotherapy to help patients respond to injury, cope with PTSD, overcome acute crises, adhere to treatment plans, persevere through rehabilitation, and experience greater mental health generally. She also has special expertise as a Qualified Medical Evaluator (QME) educator and mentor.
Dr. Presley earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from California Lutheran University and her Master of Science in Psychology and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of La Verne. She is licensed to practice in California.