Michael has 4 older sisters, he is the youngest of five. At a young age, his oldest sister was involved in a drunk driving accident and later succumbed to her injuries. This was a devastating loss for Mike and had a profound impact on his life growing up. In Southwestern Michigan, drugs were a constant problem that plagued Mike’s siblings and he watched another sister spend most of her adult life in and out of jail and rehabilitation programs. Today all of his sisters are in recovery thanks to the help of these programs. This ultimately influenced Michael to choose a career path of substance abuse and mental health counseling to try and help other families cope with the destructive nature of addiction and to find hope and recovery.
Michael has worked in various capacities in the field of addiction services and mental health counseling. Mike spent five years working as the Program Manager at a licensed substance abuse program in Middletown. Mike has served as a psychotherapist working with clients suffering from traumatic events and has a particular interest in working with veterans and victims of crime. Mike now works as the Senior Clinician on the Assertive Community Treatment Team for Gilead Community Services. Mike received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Connecticut in Urban and Community Studies, a Master of Business degree from Liberty University, and a Master of Science degree from Post University in Counseling and Human Services. In his free time, Mike enjoys traveling, fishing, and reading.