Michelle Joy, MFT, has been associated with The Couples Institute (and now The Couples Institute Counseling Services) in Menlo Park, CA, since 2002, almost the longest among the entire staff.

She received one-on-one intensive training with relationship experts Ellyn Bader, Ph.D and Peter Pearson, Ph.D for nearly 15 years, which she uses to deliver state of the art, effective tools for couples. Michelle currently serves as the Board of Directors for Couples Institute Counseling Services, as well as a therapist on staff.

In addition to Couples Therapy Intensives, Michelle offers Communication Workshops for ALL couples.  Michelle also co-leads Marriage Prep 101 Workshops for Engaged, Newly Married, or Seriously Dating couples with her husband, Dan Joy, for couples interested in Bay Area premarital counseling.

Michelle is also a certified Enneagram teacher, which is one of the many tools she uses to help couples understand and transform relationship patterns. A pioneer of combining the Developmental Model of Couples Therapy with the Enneagram, she is a chosen speaker at the International Enneagram conference, 2019, enlightening others on how to help more couples using this fascinating personality system.

A graduate in The Developmental Model of Couples Therapy – Advanced Level, Michelle is a go-to person on the Couples Institute staff for professional trainings. In addition to teaching advanced classes as well as providing consultations and trainings to therapists, Michelle has been a local and national speaker for several professional associations, including PESI.com  and CAMFT, on how to help more couples.  Michelle also gets invited to teach expert classes in Dr. Bader’s online course that reaches therapists all over the world, as well as to speak on an “expert couples therapy panel” by CAMFT, both designed to train couples therapists.  She is an expert author on Marriage.com.

Michelle helps couples reach their goals using latest advancements in differentiation and neuroscience, which ranks among one of the leading applications in psychotherapy.  Her clients appreciate her wisdom, insight and the expertise she’s gained from years of learning from some of the top leading experts in the world.

Michelle training therapists in the East Bay

Michelle teaching at the IEA Conference:

Qualifications and Affiliations:

Developmental Model of Couples Therapy Training Graduate, Level I

Developmental Model of Couples Therapy Training Graduate, Level II

“1 in 1000” Master Mentoring Program graduate

Office located in Menlo Park, CA.  Serving clients in Menlo Park, Redwood City, Atherton, Palo Alto, Burlingame, San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos, Campbell, Los Altos, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Portola Valley