Michelle Torres, MA, MFA, AMFT
Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #150977
Supervised by Mordecai Browning, LMFT
License information under legal name:
Melle Browning, LMFT #115804
MTMaxson
Employed by the Center for Mindful Psychotherapy at ExP Therapy in Petaluma and telehealth throughout California
My Approach
As a therapist, I am committed to creating a safe, affirming space where every individuals feel seen, heard, and respected. My practice is neurodivergent-affirming, LGBTQIA+-affirming, anti-racist, and culturally sensitive, ensuring that therapy is a place of genuine support and understanding.
I use an integrative, client-centered, holistic approach, tailoring therapy to each person's unique needs. Drawing from various techniques such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, psychodynamic, humanistic, mindfulness-based therapies, and Polyvagal Theory, I help clients navigate challenges with compassion and self-awareness. My goal is to support healing and growth in a way that honors each person's unique path and lived experience.
Parenting & Family Therapy
I specialize in supporting parents raising neurodivergent children—including autistic children, ADHDers, and children with a PDA profile. Parenting in these contexts can feel confusing, isolating, and exhausting, especially when the strategies that are "supposed" to work don't. Together, we'll make sense of what's happening beneath the surface so you can respond in ways that feel more effective and connected.
My approach is grounded in the belief that people do well when they can. Rather than using compliance-based approaches, I help families build relationships rooted in safety, trust, and connection. From that foundation, we develop practical, sustainable strategies that support regulation, honor the whole child, and help you navigate even the hardest moments with greater confidence and self-compassion.
Sessions may include parent-only support, parent-child sessions, or full family therapy, depending on your family's needs.
Couples Therapy
I work with couples where one or both partners are neurodivergent, as well as couples experiencing high stress, recurring conflict, or emotional disconnection. Differences in communication styles, sensory needs, processing speed, or expectations can create cycles of misunderstanding that leave both partners feeling unseen or blamed.
In our work together, we slow things down and build clarity around those patterns. We focus on increasing understanding, reducing reactivity, and developing communication strategies that honor each partner’s nervous system. The goal is not to change who you are, but to strengthen connection, repair ruptures, and create a relationship that feels steadier, more respectful, and more aligned.
Individual Therapy
I work with individuals navigating anxiety, burnout, trauma, identity shifts, and major life transitions, including women in midlife experiencing changes in roles, energy, and relationships. I also work with adults who are exploring a recent autism diagnosis or coming to understand their neurodivergence later in life. Many clients come to therapy feeling overwhelmed, stretched thin, or shaped by years of masking, self-doubt, or emotional strain.
Our work focuses on building clarity, strengthening self-trust, and creating change that feels sustainable rather than forced. Together, we explore what has been driving stress or disconnection and develop practical, compassionate ways to move forward with greater confidence and self-trust.