Additional Expertise
Specialties
About Michael Howard
Hi! I am Dr. Michael Howard, Executive Director and founder of Healing Solutions Counseling Center, PLLC.
Reagrdless of why you are seeking counseling or the specific things you may be dealing with, I promise to treat you with dignity and respect. My goal to provide you with the highest quality care possible. I am an experienced therapist and I want to assist you in overcoming the difficult, and perhaps overwhelming challenges you are currently struggling with. Life can be tremendously difficult, but here at Healing Solutions, I will walk beside you in your journey of healing as you discover a new hope and begin to experience all the joy that life truly can offer.
My background is a little unique. I enlisted in the Navy in 1984 after attending college in California for three years. I was a submarine nuclear trained electrician (Chief Petty Officer) until 2002 when I applied for and was subsequently selected to be commissioned as a Chaplain. I recently retired from the Navy with almost 28 years on active duty. I have served on 5 submarines, as an instructor at Naval nuclear prototype, as training Officer at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, and as a Chaplain at Navy boot camp, at a hospital, in a Marine combat battalion, and most recently on the amphibious warship, USS FORT McHENRY (LSD-43) where I had the blessing of participating in Operation Unified Response in Haiti after the devastating earthquake in 2010.
I am licensed as a Professional Counselor - Supervisor (LPCS) and Clinical Addictions Specialist (LCAS) in the state of North Carolina. I am also licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Washington State. I offer individual, couple, group, and family counseling. I work primarily with adults and adolescents, but also work with elderly patients as well as children when possible. My passion however, is working with couples experiencing marital and relationship problems. I am a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist - Supervisor (CSAT-S), having personally trained with the world renown therapist and researcher, Dr. Patrick Carnes. I therefore love working with couples and indviduals recovering from infidelity and sexual addiction. I aslo specialize in trauma recovery and am trained in a technique called eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), which is considered one of the most effective trauma treatments available.
My academic record is fairly extensive which is ironic since I joined the Navy because I wasn't doing well in school. I have masters degrees in professional counseling, addiction psychology, marriage and family therapy, and discipleship ministries. I also have a Doctor of Education (EdD) degree in counseling psychology. I am a Board Certified Professional Christian Counselor, as well as a nationally certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor and Master Addictions Specialist.
I enjoy mentoring, coaching, and supervising younger therapists. As an Approved Supervisor with the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), I am available for clinical supervision of therapists seeking licensure or completing a practicum or internship. I enjoy passing on knowledge and guiding therapists in their professional jouney.
I have authored numerous articles for scholarly journals and have presented at National conferences and to general audiences speaking on the topics of ethics, sexual addiction, infidelity, and building great relationships. I have authored the books, Pathways to Intimacy: Conversations for Closeness - Creating the Marriage you have Always Dreamed of (2011); and Intimate Betrayal: Hope and Healing for Couples Recovering from Infidelity and Sexual Addiction (2011).
My proudest accomplishment however, has been marrying the love of my life, Lonna, more than 26 years ago and raising four awesome children (Ila, Dawn, Kimberly, and Jonathan) together. The greatest (and most challenging) calling in life for me has been as a husband and a father.
