Michael Michnya

Michael Michnya focuses on building stronger relationships and supporting personal growth. He helps parents gain more cooperation and compliance from their children with less effort so families can enjoy one another; he works with couples to beat the odds and remain happily married; he assists creative people in overcoming barriers that block full expression of their artistic vision; and he supports diverse individuals and families as they adapt to the inevitable and often difficult transitions life brings.

His most successful clients come to therapy believing that positive change is possible, feeling hopeful about the future, and ready to take steps toward that change. They accept that lasting transformation arises from within and requires patience and steady effort. These clients value their time together with the therapist and trust the therapeutic relationship enough to do the work both during sessions and between appointments. Michael looks for people who appreciate creativity, risk-taking, and direct, honest communication, who attend sessions on time, complete assigned tasks, and report candidly about what is and is not working.

He is committed to helping every person he works with access and apply their creativity to expand the resources they already possess and reach their therapeutic goals as efficiently as possible. When a client is ready for success, Michael considers it an honor to help identify practical solutions and support changes that last so the person can pursue their own version of a happily ever after.

Michael began working with people in 1980 as a preschool teacher and in 1981 volunteered for the Child Abuse Prevention Effort. From 1982 to 1986 he served as a counselor at The Bridge, also known as The Therapeutic Center at Fox Chase, a long-term rehabilitation program for teenage substance abusers. After earning a master’s degree in counseling psychology, he was the primary counselor and coordinator for the Cape Counseling Services Family-Adolescent Alcohol Program, providing individual, group, and family counseling to children, teenagers, and families from 1986 to 1990. As a program manager at Family Service Association from 1990 to 2014, he trained and supervised more than 30 in-home counselors working with families in which children were at risk of out-of-home placement - typically due to abusive or neglectful parenting, and often because of teenage non-compliance and acting out behavior. He also oversaw a less intensive in-home parenting education program and three juvenile diversion programs. Since that time, while building his private practice, Michael has provided individual, group, and family counseling at a short-term rehabilitation program for adults with addictive disease, at a for-profit community agency, and in a federally qualified health center. Across roles as teacher, counselor, coach, program manager, and clinical supervisor, he has helped thousands of people change their lives for the better.

Michael holds a New Jersey Licensed Professional Counselor credential (NJ LPC 37PC00214700), has 39 years of clinical experience, and practices in New Jersey. His vision is a world of kind, loving, compassionate people living and working together to provide abundance for all. His purpose is to help people learn, grow, and make new and better choices to improve their lives and relationships so they can live long, healthy, happy, loving, connected, and meaningful lives. Michael’s mission uses his signature strengths of creativity, optimism, and knowledge together with research-tested methods to encourage and foster the personal, relational, and spiritual growth needed to make those changes possible.