Michelle Jeong

Michelle Jeong

(she/her)

Adler University - Master of Counselling Psychology Practicum Student

I’m Michelle (she/her), a queer, neurodivergent, chronically ill student counsellor and eldest daughter of Korean immigrants. My path into this work was shaped by navigating caregiving, cultural dissonance, and family history shaped by war, colonialism, and migration. I spent a decade supporting survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, substance use, poverty, and systemic harm, mostly in sexual assault centres and Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. These experiences taught me to sit with layered grief, honour survival strategies, and recognize how often people are dismissed or asked to prove their pain. I carry with me a deep commitment to culturally responsive, justice-oriented care that honours complexity, resistance, and the stories that don’t always get told.

What is it like working with me?

I bring curiosity, warmth, and respect for your pace. Whether you come in with grief, ambivalence, protectiveness, or questions without tidy answers, I aim to co-create a space where all parts of you are welcome, and you don’t feel the need to mask, prove your pain, or figure it all out. I value collaboration and relational safety, and I welcome the messiness and contradictions of being human. I believe therapy doesn’t start with fixing—it starts with remembering, witnessing, and reconnecting.

Note: I am fully vaccinated, mask in public spaces, and am happy to wear a mask during in-person sessions!

How can I help? 

I support folks navigating trauma, chronic pain, neurodivergence, religious and cultural harm, identity exploration, and systemic oppression. I hold particular care for those who’ve felt unseen in traditional therapy, especially 2SLGBTQ+ clients, survivors of institutional or intergenerational harm, and late-identified ADHD or autistic folks. We might work together on self-compassion, nervous system regulation, grief, or naming the things that have been lost or silenced.

My approach is… 

Trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, and rooted in feminist and systems-based frameworks. I draw from narrative therapy, somatic practices, EFT, and solution-focused tools. I explore the structural, cultural, and intergenerational contexts that shape our lives and coping. I welcome feedback and collaboration, and am committed to ongoing unlearning.

I am grounded in…

A belief that healing isn’t about “fixing,” but about reconnecting with parts of ourselves that have felt unwelcome or unseen. I honour survival strategies as wisdom and view therapy as a space to be witnessed, not judged. At the core of my work is a commitment to co-creating culturally aware spaces that honour complexity, support meaning-making, and move toward connection, authenticity, and moments of delight.

Fun Facts

Outside of counselling, my forest-gremlin soul finds peace and joy in green spaces, cooking with loved ones, tending to my balcony garden (and lemon tree Lenny), and snuggling with my two mini poodles.

Michelle is taking on new clients for lower cost counselling (Sept 1st start)!

By donation: $40-80 sliding scale

Please contact us hello@deciphercounselling.com to join the wait list.

Session type:
Individuals, Teens/Adolescents (15+), Adults

Approach:

Narrative therapy, Justice-oriented, Trauma-informed, Anti-oppressive therapy, LGBTQ2S+ affirmative, Neurodivergent affirming, Disability Justice lens, Cultural Humility, EFT, Solution-focused, Somatic work

Specialties:

Sexual + Gender-Based Violence, Depression + Anxiety, Shame + Self-Compassion, Intergenerational + Relational Trauma, Identity, Neurodivergence, Chronic Pain + Nervous System Regulation, Boundaries, Relationships, Life Transitions, Substance Use, QTBIPoC Community

Languages:

English