Meet Michelle Goldsmith, Counsellor in Huddersfield, UK
Care that meets the real you, not the polished version.
There’s a particular kind of tired that doesn’t go away with rest.
It’s the kind that builds up when you’re always the one keeping things afloat. Maybe it’s the weight of a relationship that feels “off,” but you’re not sure why. It could be challenges of living far from home, in a place that still doesn’t quite feel like yours. Or maybe it’s navigating your identity in spaces that just don’t get you (and possibly never have).
You’ve learned to read the room before reading yourself or to smile when you’d rather shut the door and be left alone. But all of the overexplaining, shrinking, or smoothing things over is taking its toll.
If any of this sounds familiar—I’m glad you’re here.
The Way I Work
There’s no performance required here.
You don’t need to have the right words (or any words at all) to come to therapy. I’m not tick-boxing symptoms or waiting for breakthroughs. I’m paying attention to the other stuff: how you pause, what your body does, and the parts of you that feel like “too much” or not enough.
My work is grounded in nervous system awareness, careful pacing, and deep respect for how your patterns were shaped, often long before you had a choice. Together, we explore how your system learned to survive, and how those strategies may now be keeping you stuck.
For some people,
This work looks like sitting in a room and letting the silence speak as words unfold over time. For others, it means walking through the woods and letting the rhythm of movement bring up the things that need to surface.
It’s one of the reasons I offer outdoor sessions. Sometimes we think better when we’re moving, and sometimes our nervous systems settle more easily under open sky.
I pay close attention to where you’re holding tension, shutting down, or pushing through. We work across emotion, thought, felt sense, and body awareness, so change happens in a way that feels integrated, not overwhelming.
This is not about forcing vulnerability or rushing insight. It’s about creating enough safety for movement to happen naturally.
Over time, many clients begin to relate to themselves differently. There’s more self-compassion. Less self-criticism. A growing ability to honour their own needs as much as they’ve always honoured others.
As understanding deepens, especially around how the nervous system was shaped in childhood, shame begins to soften. What once felt like personal failure starts to make sense. And from that understanding, new choices become possible.
“The fact that a person has lost her way, is injured, wandering, or wondering, is an important part of her story. Injury, in a symbolic sense, always marks the place where the ‘treasure’ will be found.”
Clarissa Pinkola Estés
My Background & Education
I’m a queer American expat raising two kids in the UK. I came out later in life and rebuilt things I never thought I’d rebuild. I know what it’s like to feel like an outsider—even in your own relationships. I know what it’s like to start over while carrying a lot of emotional weight. And I know how powerful it is to have someone witness that without flinching or judging.
I’ve spent over a decade in the mental health field, working across the US and UK in creative and clinical settings. I also hold advanced training in trauma, somatics, feminist therapy, and neurodiversity-affirming, anti-oppressive practice.
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Postgraduate Diploma in Psychotherapy and Counselling — University of Leeds
Master of Science with Distinction in Dance/Movement Creative Arts Therapy — Pratt Institute, NYC
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ADHD Clinical Services Provider Certification (ongoing)
Deb Dana’s Polyvagal-Informed Practitioner Training
Mixed and Multi-Racial Heritage in Therapy
LGBTQIA+ Affirmative Care Specialist: Clinical Skills for Trauma Recovery, Identity Development, and Inclusive Practices
Nature Allied Psychotherapy — Nature Therapy School
Somatic Therapies for Complex Trauma (CCTP-II) — Arielle Schwartz, Abi Blakeslee, and Janina Fisher
Trauma Treatment Certification Training (CCTP-I) — Janina Fisher
Diploma in Diversity, Cultural Competence, Race, and Anti-Discrimination in Therapeutic Practice — The AntiDiscrimination Focus (#TADF)
Women’s Mental Health Specialist Certificate — PESI
Black Feminism and Womanism: Therapeutic Perspectives — Claudia Coussins, Feminist Therapy Network
Birthing from a Trans Perspective — Jacob Stokoe, Make Birth Better
Reproductive Trauma: Tools for Infertility, Pregnancy Loss, Birth Trauma & Perinatal Mental Health — PESI
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Registered Member — National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS)
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Guest Presenter on Intersubjectivity, Embodied Resonance and Reflexive Writing at University of Leeds MA Psychotherapy & Counselling course
Radical Resonance, Queer Embodiment, Co-regulation, and Femifesto Writing – Please get in touch if interested in the next workshop dates.
Let’s find the pace and process that actually works for you.
Sessions available in-person and online across the UK and Europe.