Michael Cummings , LCSW

Michael Cummings makes his home in Kentucky and draws on a lifetime of experience in the Appalachian region, including a brief work period in Knoxville. He finds the mountains and time outdoors to be his greatest sources of renewal, and that grounded perspective informs his work as a therapist.

He brings a warm, open, encouraging, and direct style to sessions, combining active clinical work with practical problem solving. Michael blends experience, education, creativity, and a sense of humor with a down-to-earth, realistic approach to counseling so each plan is tailored to the person and the situation. He is an LCSW - a Licensed Clinical Social Worker - and uses a mix of methods to match each client’s needs.

Michael’s practice covers a broad range of concerns, including depression, anxiety, marriage and family issues, stress management, adjustment to life changes, trauma, motivation and self-esteem work, sleep disturbances, and substance use. He often uses cognitive-behavioral techniques and acceptance-focused work for general mental health concerns, behavioral family therapy for relationship and family issues, S.M.A.R.T. recovery for addiction, and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia for sleep difficulties.

His background includes service on an Institutional Review Board for a federal agency, work as a Kentucky Board of Social Work clinical supervisor, experience as a healthcare ethics consultant, 13 years providing clinical care within federal and state systems for military veterans and their families, and two years as a bereavement counselor with hospice.

Approaches That Guide Online Care and Support

Michael integrates Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as core tools in his online practice. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters to them and build actions that align with those values while learning to live with difficult thoughts and feelings; it can be helpful for anxiety, depression, and life transitions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns to reduce symptoms and improve coping, which suits concerns such as anxiety, depression, and sleep problems.

He also draws on client-centered principles, offering an empathic, nonjudgmental stance that allows clients to lead the pace of change while the therapist supports insight and growth. Choosing the right combination of methods is part of the therapeutic process; Michael works collaboratively with each person to determine which approaches best match their needs, goals, and preferences.

Online appointments - including video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging - make it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules and to continue care across distances. These options provide flexibility for people balancing work, family, or relocation, and allow therapists to adapt communication styles and tools to support each client effectively.