Meet Michele Goldberg | Founding Owner and Psychotherapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michele Goldberg and we’ve shared our conversation below.

What value or principle matters most to you? Why?

Authenticity is a core value in our work. Like many new therapists, I initially believed that maintaining a professional façade would help build legitimacy and trust, creating a safe, contained space for clients. I quickly realized that this approach is alienating for both client and therapist. Since helping others embrace their true selves is a primary goal of therapy, we must be willing to show up as our authentic selves as well.

The best advice I received during early training was simple: be real and present. When we uphold a strict hierarchy between “expert” and “patient,” it exhausts us as therapists and creates a disconnect with clients—particularly those sharing their most vulnerable experiences. Authentic human expressions deserve human responses. Adhering to stale roles has other disadvantages. If we overlook our clients’ innate wisdom, we hinder their ability to hone their own intuition and perceptions, reinforcing unhealthy power dynamics.

Being authentic also means being flexible in the moment. While preparation is important, coming into a session with a rigid agenda or predetermined interventions can feel forced and artificial. We strive for genuine, spontaneous connection. By letting go of overly reserved or formulaic approaches, we create space for the unique dynamics of each therapeutic relationship. This allows a client’s full personality to emerge and flourish.

Therapy is undoubtedly a serious, deep, and intimate process, but we also leave room for moments of play, humor, ease, and the unexpected. Thankfully, the field has evolved beyond the idea of therapists as blank slates for clients—a model that often left clients feeling lonely and unmet. Therapists today are encouraged to be real, whole individuals, enabling clients to accept and integrate all aspects of themselves. This shift helps clients practice relating to a complete person as a complete person so they can feel known, respected, and appreciated for all that they are.

Please tell us more about your business. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today business-wise. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

We are a holistic psychotherapy practice that emphasizes a conversational and personalized approach. Our methods are eclectic, tailored to each individual, and balance nonjudgmental compassion with direct feedback. We strive to engage actively and thoughtfully, rather than responding with simple repetition or passivity.

We’ve found that when feedback is grounded in a genuine relationship built on understanding, care, and mutual respect, clients are more likely to embrace and apply the insights we develop together.

We arrived at this point of growth organically and haphazardly, one session at a time, without a formal business plan or marketing strategy. Our practice has thrived primarily through word of mouth, client referrals, and recommendations from colleagues.

As we begin to modernize, it’s honestly humbling to be so ignorant about organization and social media. Recently, we updated our website and added a blog—a process that felt foreign and awkward, especially given our discomfort with presenting ourselves as experts.

On the whole, adding to our collective always has enhanced our quality of care and been a positive process. In our early years, we did experience growing pains when integrating a new practitioner who, we later learned, sought personal gain rather than a comprehensive care team. Our focus was clinical skill, not the business side of employment. We were naive. We learned.

As for our brand and story, our clients are at the heart of both. It’s not really about us. While we strive to be compassion-focused and to offer integrated, sometimes playful, dynamic care, there is no single thread that connects the individualized treatment we provide.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there a person, group, organization, book, etc that you want to dedicate your shoutout to? Who else deserves a little credit and recognition in your story?

I would not label myself as successful. It can be interpreted to mean so many things. While it’s true that I’m hardworking, many people are dedicated to their work. What I may share in common with them is that I feel really grateful to even be doing what I’m doing. In order to do anything, luck also plays into the equation.

I did have many teachers along the way. My father was always so committed to his clients and genuinely emotional about their lives, needs, and hardships. He showed me that you can help more, not less, if you are deeply invested in other humans whose lives are as important as your own. He instilled such passion for learning and curiosity about the world.

Later on, my professor of mysticism at UC Berkeley suggested I adopt a mindfulness practice for extra credit. This shaped my ability to feel and sit with those feelings. Our silent retreats, which I laughed awkwardly at and made me deeply uncomfortable at the time, created a firmer foundation to experience life and be present and whole with others. Relationships changed. I changed.

Reading the likes of Pema Chodron and other compassionate practitioners opened my heart. A friend recognized I was nonjudgmental and encouraged me to pursue my interest in therapy, even accompanying me to the orientation for her graduate school of psychology. She loved what she did that much and saw something in me for which I will forever be grateful.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc. In your view what are some of the most fun, interesting, exciting people, places or things to check out?
I would start with the reason for moving to Boulder – the mountains. There are so many beautiful and grounding hikes within ten minutes of town central, including those with Flatirons views. We would also walk Wonderland Lake and Coot Lake. We would grab coffee at Ozo East or Boxcar, or drive up to Cavegirl Coffee and walk the charming local area in Longmont. Restaurants would include Georgia Boys BBQ, Rayback Collective trucks, Post Chicken, Blackbelly, AOI, and Dushanbe Tea House. The baked goods at Lucky’s are delicious! The Fiske Planetarium offers great shows, and the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art always presents provocative exhibits. Boco Cider and Full Cycle have quaint and intimate live music. We would enjoy Trident and Boulder Bookstore, as well as entertainment at DV8 and Junkyard Social Club. They would have to experience all the rooftop dining and the old town centers of Niwot, Louisville, Lafayette, Eerie, Lyons, and Nederland. With additional time, we might visit Loveland and Fort Collins. More importantly, they would be showered with love from our local community. It’s really unlike any other place – a magical blend of old school hippies, active young families, artists, grounded and lowkey professionals, and progressive advocates.

Website: https://findyourcentertherapy.com/

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Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/find-your-center-boulder-2