- Attachment focus
- Emotion-focused work
- Motivational interviewing
About Michael
Michael Misterka is a Licensed Certified Social Worker-Clinical (LCSW-C) in Maryland with 15 years of experience. He works with adults facing stress, anxiety, relationship concerns, parenting struggles, addictions, trauma and grief. He also lists blended family issues among his focus areas.
Michael favors straightforward, talk-based work that aims for practical change. He encourages clients to set the goals and decide what changes they want. Sessions emphasize honest discussion about patterns, choices, and next steps rather than jargon or tests.
His approach combines several methods. He uses client-centered and attachment-based ideas to look at how relationships shape feelings. He draws on emotionally-focused and psychodynamic perspectives to notice recurring patterns from the past. Motivational interviewing is used when someone wants to change behaviors such as substance use or patterns of avoidance.
In sessions he helps people sort through family-of-origin issues, co-parenting tensions, anger, grief, and the stress of life transitions. He also works with people dealing with intimacy problems, low self-esteem, and career-related strain. For parents and stepparents, he addresses communication problems and the strain that blended households can bring.
Michael describes his work as collaborative - he listens, offers observations, and supports clients as they try new ways of relating and coping. He also helps people weigh choices about relationships, parenting, and recovery from substance use.
Therapeutic approaches and working online
Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early relationships shape current trust and closeness. It can help with loyalty conflicts, attachment issues, and struggles forming secure connections in blended households.Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) focuses on identifying and naming strong emotions in relationship situations. It helps people change repeated interaction patterns that create distance or recurring conflict.
Client-Centered Therapy centers on the client setting the goals and pace of work. The therapist listens, reflects, and supports decisions about what to change in relationships and parenting.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will discuss options and collaborate on what fits the client’s needs, goals, and preferences. That process can include trying different techniques and checking what is helpful.
Confirm the current session formats before booking because the biography does not list specific online or in-person options. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, reduce travel time, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and let people meet from quieter surroundings. Talk with the therapist after completing the matching questionnaire about which format and frequency best suit daily routines and practical constraints.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
15+ years
Listed in
Maryland
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What issues does he address related to blended households?
He lists blended family issues, communication problems, co-parenting tensions, and fatherhood issues among his focus areas. He helps individuals talk through conflicts and role adjustments in stepfamily situations.
What is his general therapeutic style?
He uses a client-centered approach that emphasizes honest discussion and practical change. Sessions focus on goals the client sets and decisions the client wants to make.
How much experience does he have?
He has 15 years of counseling experience working with relationship conflict, trauma, parenting, addictions, anxiety, depression, and life transitions.
What are his credentials and where is he based?
He is an LCSW-C in Maryland. His credential is listed as LCSW-C (Maryland).
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people outside the U.S. work with him?
He does not accept international clients at this time.
How are sessions structured and what formats are available?
Confirm current session options before booking since formats are not specified in the biography. The therapist asks clients to select an online therapy option and complete a short matching questionnaire to arrange a first session.
How does pricing work and how do I begin?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time. To start, select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is for adults and is not emergency care, mediation or legal advice. If you or a child are in danger, use the emergency numbers. Find someone else by name.