Michelle Pliska

Michelle Pliska, LPC-MH, LPCC, is a licensed counselor in South Dakota with 18 years of professional experience. She helps people coping with stress, anxiety, grief, depression, LGBTQ concerns, and major life changes. Michelle also works with issues such as abandonment, caregiver stress, loneliness, and questions about life purpose.

Her background includes work in clinical mental health and educational settings, from middle and high schools to college environments. She has experience related to juvenile justice systems and brings that perspective into her work with individuals facing complex life stressors.

Michelle uses traditional talk therapy and is registered as a play therapist. Sessions may include music, art, or other creative expressions when those methods help a person put feelings into words or try a different way of processing difficult topics.

In sessions she offers steady, nonjudgmental listening and practical conversation about next steps. People can expect to talk through what feels stuck, try small changes, and notice how those changes affect daily life.

Her practice attends to everyday problems like money and workplace stress as well as deeper concerns such as guilt, shame, post-traumatic stress, and forgiveness. Michelle aims to help clients clarify values and choices when facing midlife questions or uncertainty about what comes next.

How therapeutic methods translate to online work

Many of the techniques Michelle uses are adaptable to remote sessions. Traditional talk therapy focuses on conversation to identify patterns, clarify goals, and plan small changes; it helps with anxiety, depression, workplace stress, and decision points. Play-based approaches bring music, art, or creative tasks into sessions; these methods can help people express difficult emotions or practice new ways of communicating when words feel limited.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Michelle will help clients compare methods and decide what fits their needs, goals, and preferences. That selection can shift over time as the work progresses and as clients notice what helps them most.

Session formats supported by this profile are not specified in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy schedule, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and remove travel time. It can also let people use creative tools immediately during a session, such as music or drawing, to try out new ways of working on stress, grief, or life-purpose questions.