Licensed to practice in California and accepts 47 insurances. Specializes in Couples Counseling, LGBTQ, Mood Disorders
(he/him)
My name is Michael Southerland and I have over 30 years experience in working with people in mental health, 10 years as a licensed therapist. I have worked in child welfare and adoptions, juvenile systems, and community mental health. I have been in private practice for a total of 8 years. I truly enjoy helping others become their best selves. I am looking forward to meeting you.
Clients can expect a warm and enthusiastic acceptance for me. I am a Rogerian therapist that uses other therapies within a context of genuineness, empathy, and unconditional positive regard. I believe that humor is a good source of healing. I use humor in sessions and you can expect that from day one. I do take therapy seriously and will provide a safe place for you to share of yourself from the beginning.
I believe greatest strengths as a therapist include empathy, a non-judgmental approach, humor, and an ability to find the roots of problems.
I find I work best with those who want to get better. I specialize in LGBTQ issues, children, autistic, and couples (gay or straight). Clients who are struggling with transitions in life, like divorce, family, birth of a child, the loss of a partner, or the loss of a job are ideal for me. Anyone who wants to be happy is ideal for me.
Top specialties
I identify as
Cash - $150 per session
Aetna
Aetna - Allied Benefits
Aetna - ASR Health Benefits
Aetna - Luminare
Aetna - Moda
Aetna - WebTPA
Aetna – HealthEZ
All Savers
Amerihealth Administrators
Anthem
Arlo
AvMed
Blue Cross
Blue Shield
Carelon Behavioral Health (Commercial)
Centivo
Cigna
Cigna - HealthEZ
EAP:Cigna
EAP:Evernorth
EAP:UnitedHealthcare/Optum
Evernorth
Golden Rule
GTEB
Harvard Pilgrim/UnitedHealthcare
Health Net (Commercial)
IHSS Healthy Workers
Independence Administrators
Independence Blue Cross
L.A. Care Covered
L.A. Care Covered Direct
L.A. Care PASC-SEIU
Optum
OptumHealth Complex Medical Conditions
Oscar
Oxford
Scripps Health Plan
Sharp Health Plan
Surest (formerly Bind)
Sutter Health Plan
Tufts Health/Cigna
United Medical Resources
UnitedHealthcare Life Insurance
UnitedHealthcare Shared Services
UnitedHealthcare StudentResources
UnitedHealthcare/Optum
Person-centered (Rogerian)
I believe that all therapies fit within the Person-centered model. All clients will experience genuineness, and unconditional positive regard. I have years of experience with this model and use it alongside other modalities, such as, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Solution-focused therapy.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
This is by far the best treatment for anxiety and depression. By focusing on thoughts related to the feelings, the treatment goes to the causes of these negative feelings. Change your thinking, change your feelings and behavior.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
Using mindfulness will help you feel better in the moment by taking you out of the past, where depression lives and out of the future where anxiety lives.
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
Sometimes therapy is brief for on specific problem. Solution Focused Therapy is a great method to use in situations that are not as complicated as others. SFBT sees a problem as something outside of the person, not a characteristic of the person
Couples Counseling
I am very experienced in working with couples and enjoy this a great deal.
1 rating with written reviews
February 19, 2025
It is nice to meet you. I think it's good that we have a lot in common, especially all of the LGBTQ connections. This is reassuring. I'm looking forward to working with you. See you next week!