Jennifer Michels, PhD ABPP
Areas of Focus:
Dr. Michels’ clinical career has been anchored in multi-disciplinary medical services. She specializes in management of cancer-related distress, supporting both patients and their caregivers through diagnosis, treatment, and post-treatment phases. Dr. Michels is also passionate about women’s health issues, supporting women through perimenopause/menopause transitions, pregnancy loss, and perinatal/postpartum mood and anxiety challenges. She offers a range of health psychology services for psychological adjustment with gastrointestinal, neurological, rheumatological, and endocrine disorders. Dr. Michels is skilled in the treatment of mood, anxiety, and adjustment disorders, relationship stress, grief, sleep disorders, attention challenges, and other mental health conditions in adult populations.
Therapeutic Approach:
Dr. Michels is licensed in Wisconsin and holds credentials for telehealth practice across PSYPACT states. She draws from a variety of theoretical orientations to deliver integrative, evidence-based psychotherapy interventions. Dr. Michels’ primary theoretical modality is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). She supplements this with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), Solution-Focused Therapy, and Systems Theory, incorporating Positive Psychology, Gottman Method techniques, mindfulness, relaxation, and motivational strategies as needed.
Education and Professional Affiliations:
Dr. Michels received her master’s and doctoral degrees from Southern Illinois University. She completed her predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-School of Medicine and Public Health in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Michels is board-certified in Clinical Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology and is a long-standing member of the American Psychological Association, Wisconsin Psychological Association, and National Register of Health Service Psychologists, among other professional affiliations listed below.
Contact Dr. Michels
Dr. Michels is a board-certified clinical psychologist with over two decades of diverse clinical experience and administrative leadership. She has broad professional skills across the specialties of clinical, consulting, and health psychology.
Prior to transitioning to private practice, Dr. Michels spent her career in academic and non-profit health systems, where she served as a faculty psychologist, Psychology Fellowship Training Director, Director of Resident Well-Being, and member of the Physician and Allied Professionals Health Committee. This background informs her expertise in the professional and personal challenges facing physicians, medical residents and fellows, advanced practice clinicians, healthcare executives, and other professionals in high-demand occupations - as well as their family members.
I grew up in the small town of Minocqua in northern Wisconsin. One of my favorite things to do as a child was to ride my bike to a nearby wooded point, sit on a boulder high above the lake, and look out over beautiful Lake Minocqua. It was at this spot that I decided to become a psychologist…and I’ve never looked back. It seemed fitting to capture where it all began when launching my private practice and consulting business.
I’ve been helping clients learn to thrive for over 25 years. I am a dedicated, passionate professional, committed to providing high-quality services. My office setting offers the utmost of privacy. I invite you to contact me to achieve your personal goals for improved mental health and well-being.
What’s In A Name?
Leadership and Administrative Experience:
Dr. Michels previously served as the Director of Graduate Medical Education (GME) Wellness and the Chairperson of the Resident Well-Being Committee at Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS). In these roles, she led programming to improve medical trainee well-being and provided consultation and coaching services to medical students, residents, and fellows. Dr. Michels also served as a member of the MCHS Physician and Allied Professionals Health Committee (PHC) where she provided consultation services to physicians and allied professionals and worked to advance individual, team, and organizational well-being initiatives. Dr. Michels was the Psychology Team Lead at MCHS for a decade, guiding policy development, care delivery protocols, clinical hiring decisions, quality improvement initiatives, and expansion of clinical services.
Dr. Michels has been dedicated to training future psychologists and other mental health clinicians over her career. She led the development of the Adult Clinical and Health Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship at MCHS, serving as the Director of Training and a clinical supervisor for the program. Dr. Michels was deeply involved in clinical training, teaching numerous clinical seminars to psychology and medical trainees and facilitating leadership, professionalism, and ethics seminars. Dr. Michels is passionate about educating professionals, the public, and organizations about improving mental health and well-being in the workplace, our communities, and in the general population.
Professional Affiliations:
American Board of Professional Psychology
American Psychological Association
Division 12 - Society of Clinical Psychology
Division 13 - Society of Consulting Psychology
Division 38 - Society of Health Psychology
Division 42 - Psychologist in Independent Practice
Wisconsin Psychological Association
National Register for Health Service Psychologists
APA Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology - Class 7