Over the coming weeks we want to introduce you to members of CRR’s Clinical Team who you may not yet know. This week we invite you to take a few minutes to get to know a little bit more about Michelle Mays.
Michelle D. Mays LPC, CSAT-S is the founder and Clinical Director of the Center for Relational Recovery, serving individuals and couples struggling with sexual addiction, betrayal trauma, childhood trauma, and relationship issues.
Michelle received her Master’s in Counseling in 2001 in Seattle, Washington where she then opened a private practice focused on helping those struggling with sexual addiction, trauma and relationship issues. In 2005, she crossed the country and moved back to Northern Virginia where she opened a private practice in Leesburg. One of Michelle’s passions to is educate and train other counselors to become excellent providers of care and healing for clients. In 2011 Michelle founded the Center for Relational Recovery, a counseling and training center focused on providing leading edge treatment to sex addicts, partners of sex addicts, trauma survivors, and those struggling with relationship issues.
The Center for Relational Recovery is grounded in the belief that all change happens in relationship and that our attachments to others are both the most meaningful and at times the most challenging parts of our lives. CRR’s programs are grounded in a relational attachment-based model that leads to transformed lives and relationships.
Michelle is also the founder of PartnerHope, a comprehensive resource and online community offering authentic hope and practical help to those recovering from betrayal trauma. She is the author of the book, The Aftermath of Betrayal and is in the process of writing a book for partners of sex addicts.
Michelle is a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist and Supervisor trained under Dr. Patrick Carnes. She is also trained in Post Induction Therapy (for the treatment of relational trauma) by Pia Mellody. She is currently completing her certification in Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples. She is a Registered Supervisor with the state of Virginia and is licensed as a Professional Counselor in both Virginia and Washington DC.
Michelle is a member of the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health, the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals, the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy, the American Counseling Association, and the Northern Virginia Licensed Professional Counselors Association.
Prior to entering private practice, Michelle owned Envision Ideas Inc., a consulting business focused on strategic direction, branding and marketing. Prior to that she worked with a national crime victim assistance organization creating new programs and training materials and also spent several years working in the area of international relief and development.
On a personal note, here are a few things to know about Michelle. Snow makes her happy. Reading is her favorite. She hates asparagus. The beach is the happiest place on earth. Her siblings and sibling-in-laws make her laugh out loud. She regularly refers to her dog as “her lab-ness.” She would rather not be bored. Ever. A night out with friends can’t be beat. Music makes life worth living. Interior design is her secret fixation and she wants to come back as Joanna Gaines in her next life. A morning spent writing on her sun porch is the best morning ever. A tent and a campfire almost always end in tears (usually from laughter but sometimes not). And she really wishes she could teleport.