Michelle Lepak LCSW
Michelle developed the Presence Psychotherapy trauma treatment model. She has been clinical associate faculty at the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Psychiatry, and has taught psychologists, social workers and LPCs trauma treatment at Rutgers University as well as postgraduate training institutes such as The National Institute for the Psychotherapies (NIP) and The Training Institute for Mental Health. Michelle has published in the Journal of Integrative Psychotherapy, The International Journal of Trauma Care, and the Journal of Hospital and Community Psychiatry. Michelle has been a psychotherapist and meditator for 30 years and maintains a private practice in Montclair, NJ where she provides online consultation and training for psychotherapists.
Presentations and Papers:
Lepak, M. M., & Carson, G. D. (2022). Presence psychotherapy: A novel integrative trauma treatment model for thorough memory reconsolidation. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 32(4), 426–442. https://doi.org/10.1037/int0000273
Lepak, M.M. Utilization of Presence Awareness in Trauma Therapy. Trauma Care 2022, 2, 589-599. https://doi.org/10.3390/traumacare2040049
Dissociation and Complex Trauma – Presented at the National Institute of the Psychotherapies. NY, NY. April 2018.
Integrating Internal Family Systems (IFS) and EMDR. Presented at the National Institute of the Psychotherapies, NY, NY April 2015.
Balancing Emotions during COVID. Techniques from Internal Family Systems and Somatic Experiencing. Presented nationally at the NASW-NJ social work conference, April 2020.
Certifications and Education:
Internal Family Systems (IFS) -. Approved Consultant.
Internal Family Systems Certified therapist.
Somatic Experiencing (SE): Advanced Practitioner.
Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) Level 1 therapist.
EMDR: levels 1 and. 2.
Psycho-analytically trained. National Institute for the Psychotherapies, (NIP), NY, NY. 1998-2001.
MSW – University of Pennsylvania, 1989.
IFS Consultant
Michelle provides consultation groups for therapists who want to deepen their knowledge and confidence doing Internal Family Systems therapy. She is approved by the IFS Institute to provide consultation hours toward IFS certification for therapists who have completed level 1 IFS training. Michelle receives individual supervision from Richard Schwartz, developer of Internal Family Systems.
Additional info:
Restorative Yoga Teacher trained – Level 1 at YogaWorks, NYC with Jillian Pransky.
Assessment and healing of body-held experience immersion course. Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA.
Michelle is a long time meditator in multiple traditions.