Michelle Desmond

A warm hello to all my neurodivergent community! Welcome to Individuals and families seeking somatic, expressive arts based, educational, or communication support. Welcome to anyone who has found this space and is interested in growth!

My name is Michelle, and I’m proudly a multiply neurodivergent practitioner who believes strongly in creating strength based support. I value neurodiversity as a natural and valuable part of human experience and reject deficit based frameworks. I aim to provide support that is celebratory and responsive to each person’s ways of learning, communicating, and relating. I value liberation psychology, with racial equity and anti-racist values as a central priority in my work. I value a collaborative approach and working together in ways that honor each person’s unique experiences, communication style, creativity, and ways of relating to the world.

I’m trained in Brainspotting and offer a collaborative and expansive based approach.

Brainspotting is a focused mindfulness approach that uses eye position and attention to support emotional and somatic processing. It works by helping individuals notice internal experiences in a contained and present centered way, supporting the mind body system’s natural capacity for regulation and integration. This process can create space for deeper awareness, emotional clarity, and meaningful shifts in how experiences are held and understood. (You can learn more here: https://brainspotting.com/about-brainspotting/)

To further expand on and integrate this somatic work, I incorporate expressive arts, metaphors, storytelling, and narrative based practices that support reflection and growth through meaning making. My hope is to create a space that feels affirming, collaborative, responsive, and centered in curiosity and connection.

I’m trained in DIR/Floortime, which offers a developmentally respectful, play-based approach that uses connection and relationship to support communication, emotional regulation, and social connection. It is an honor to bring this approach into my work with young people.

I named my practice Emerald Family Coaching. To some, Emeralds are associated with healing, renewal, and growth, Symbolizing heart-centered clarity, emotional balance, and the steady unfolding of inner wisdom over time. These are all blessings that I hope for every person I work with!

If you would like to explore working together, feel free to reach out to schedule a complimentary 15 minute information session!

Education and Training

• Trained in Brainspotting (Levels 1, 2, and 3)
• Specialty Courses: Brainspotting with Children and Adolescents 
• Trained in DIR/Floortime
• Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education
• Bachelor’s degree in Psychology
• Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Expressive Arts Therapy
• Current Doctoral Candidate in Marriage and Family Therapy with an emphasis in Organizational Systems in MFT

My master’s thesis explored support-based expressive arts work with neurodivergent adolescents. As a doctoral candidate, I continue ongoing study and exploration in the fields of neurodiversity studies and Family Systems Theory.

Session Lengths: Sessions are 60-75 minutes

For children who may have shorter attention spans, 30-35 minute split sessions may be offered on a case-by case basis. :)

Family groups can Choose to book 1.5 sessions as a way of creating space for multiple voices!

Important Note: The work I offer is coaching based and focused on growth, support, collaboration, skill building, and somatic integration and expansion. This practice centers personal and family well being and is not a form of clinical diagnosis or treatment.

Financial Investment 

I believe support should be accessible while also honoring the time, energy, knowledge, creativity, and care that this work requires. I value autonomy, honest communication, and trust-building. With this in mind, I invite coaching participants to choose their own payment tier with honesty and integrity.

Sliding Scale

Full Price Rate — $188 per session This rate reflects the full value of sessions. If you are someone with financial stability, disposable income, or access to significant resources, you’re invited to choose this tier.

Mid Range Reduced Sliding Scale — $138 per session This tier may feel right if you are financially stable but still thoughtful about your spending and budgeting.

Reduced Rate Sliding Scale — $98 per session This rate is intended to support accessibility. You might choose this tier if paying more would create financial stress, or if you are navigating limited financial resources.

(All ending in 8 as a nod to infinity.)

Scholarship Spots — I hold a number of scholarship spots at the rate of $11.11. If you are experiencing financial instability, please feel welcome to reach out and ask if a scholarship spot is currently available!

Thank you for your care and integrity in choosing a tier that aligns with your current situation!