​Michelle D'Arcy has been in the fields of Mental Health, Addictions and Trauma Treatment since 1975. Michelle started her career as a Psychiatric Social Worker and Addictions Counselor in the US Armed Forces. Michelle's orientation to the field of mental health, involved working with soldiers who were suffering from severe PTSD due to combat deployments. Her training took place at Brooks Amy Medical Center, Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. Michelle served her term in the military as both a psychiatric social worker and a substance abuse counselor while stationed at Ft. Carson, Colorado. She provided individual, family, couples and group therapy services to active military personnel and their family members. 

​After being honorably discharged from the military, Michelle’s passion to continue to help active duty, veterans and their family members remained strong. Michelle began working at the Colorado Veterans Outreach Program as a counselor in the late 70's up until the early 80's. She was promoted to Program Director after 2 years. She trained staff to provide treatment to military veterans of all wars and their family members when trauma and/or substance use disorders were identified in the therapy. Michelle referred many veterans into residential/inpatient treatment programs as needed. Michelle recognized that Complex Trauma and/or Family of Origin issues surfaced so much of the time, as clients were dealing with war time PTSD issues.  ​

​In the early 80's, Michelle became a Certified Addictions Counselor. Due to her previous experience, Michelle advanced to the position of Program Director of 3 Intensive Outpatient Chemical Dependency Programs in Denver, Colorado. The programs treated: clients having multiple substance use disorders and also co-occurring  disorders. She developed a family treatment program as well to assist the recovering addict and family members. She believes that all must be treated in order to have a functional a thriving family. 

Michelle was responsible for training all clinical staff with the most current assessment, treatment modalities and intervention strategies. Michelle obtained numerous trainings in addition to her degrees to insure that her staff were a solid team of clinicians. 

In the mid 80’s, Michelle moved on to the private sector and worked as a Clinic Director at a private counseling agency for 4 years.  She worked with clients who had co-occurring conditions substance use disorders. She additionally worked with those who had: Eating Disorders, Excessive Gambling, Sexual Addiction, Love Addiction, Work Addiction and currently works with those who have Screen Addiction. 

Michelle served on the State of Colorado’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division (ADAD) Counselor Certification Advisory Committee for several years. The committee was designed to actively insure that those CAC counselors at all levels provide clinical services with ethical and professional standards as governed by the State of Colorado. The committee provided corrective action plans and guidance to counselors who required monitoring and additional trainings. 

Michelle has utilized Pia Mellody's Model of Post Induction Therapy Model™ (PIT) for 39 years. Michelle first met Pia Mellody in 1985. She requested that Pia come to Denver to train clinical staff while working at a Dual Diagnosis Inpatient Hospital with 3 IOP Substance Use Disorder programs. Based on Pia Mellody's Post Induction Therapy Model, Michelle developed an IOP utilizing Pia's Model in 1986. This program was highly successful and this IOP was considered a model program in the Charter Hospital system across the country. Michelle went on to train and audit Pia's trainings year after year, observing a Pioneer who developed one of the most power therapeutic models of treatment that will transcend through many generations to come.   

Post Induction Therapy is a "user friendly" treatment model that utilizes a combination of psycho-educational information, rich in using a thorough lens to examine each of our histories. PIT treatment combines creative exacting experiential therapies to reduce shame and to embrace the inner children in each of us. This allows us to function as true adults in our relationships with self and others. 

Pia Mellody speaks with humility about being "divinely led" through her "Higher Power," to train therapists. It is apparent that Pia's delivery of this model, has been a gift to clients and therapists across the world. Pia Mellody had a vision how to treat what we now call "Relational Trauma." 
39 years later, Michelle continues to utilize Pia's PIT Model with weaving in Somatic and Brain Centered therapies with most of her clients. 

Michelle has ​been in private practice since 1990. She has always contended that addressing the "whole person," is crucial to successful therapy. She believes that it is truly up to her as the expert, to be deliberate in the therapeutic setting. Michelle has designed a multi-disciplined therapeutic tool that assists therapists in providing expeditious and thorough assessments of their clients that cover a wide range of vital historical information crucial to treatment planning.

The concept of one gaining a true experience of their own "Spiritual Walk," remains in the forefront of Michelle's work with her clients as well as for herself. 

Michelle is a strong advocate of 12 Step Programs, therapy groups, community resources that allow her clients to "belong" to more than one "tribe," and any compassionate fellowship that advances one on their life's journey. 

Michelle has provided trainings in many subject areas and provides Clinical Supervision to clinicians all over the country. 

​One of the Core Issues of Pia Mellody's Model remains in the forefront of Michelle's mind. This is the practice of "Self Care." 

In her spare time, Michelle experiences a great deal of joy as the leader of a Colorado based a cappella group called,"5280 A Cappella."This group has been voted one of Denver's Top Vocal Groups by our local news stations and in 2019, 5280 A Cappella received the A Cappella International Music Awards for best album of the year. 

Michelle plays guitar, loves biking, hiking, skiing, ATV'ing and fishing! While she grew up on a large lake, she has come to embrace Colorado's beautiful streams for a good "catch and release" experience!