Michael Crownover

Clinical Mental Health Counseling Intern

Specializing in anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and life transitions. Direct, evidence-based care from a counselor who came to this work after a career in the military, the classroom, and small business.

About Michael

Michael Crownover is a Clinical Mental Health Counseling Intern completing his Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Southern New Hampshire University and working toward North Carolina LCMHCA licensure. He provides individual counseling to adults and adolescents navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, grief and loss, relationship difficulties, and major life transitions. Michael came to counseling after two decades in other work — four years in the United States Air Force, a year teaching fourth grade in a Title I school, and six years running his own business — and that history shapes how he sits with clients: practically, without pretense, and with real respect for what it costs someone to ask for help. Clients can expect a counselor who listens closely, says what he actually thinks, and treats the work as a collaboration rather than a prescription.

Specialties

• Anxiety & Chronic Worry
• Depression & Mood Concerns
• Trauma & PTSD
• Grief & Loss
• Relationship & Family Challenges
• Life Transitions & Career Change
• Adolescent Counseling
• Men's Mental Health, Veterans & Service Members

Therapeutic Approach

Michael draws primarily from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), trauma-informed care, and attachment-based approaches, matching the method to the client rather than applying one model to everyone. Within Stafford & Associates' schema-informed framework, he looks past the presenting symptom to the older pattern underneath it — the beliefs about self and others that formed early, the core needs that went unmet, and the coping styles built to manage them. He is transparent about what he is doing and why, and he invites feedback when something is not working.

Education

• M.A. — Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Southern New Hampshire University, 2026
• B.A. — Geography, University of California, Los Angeles, 2018

Training & Professional Involvement

• Clinical internship in outpatient mental health, adults and adolescents, 2025–present
• Training in clinical assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning, and documentation
• Weekly individual and group clinical supervision
• Schema-informed practice training, Stafford & Associates Counseling

License & Certification

• Clinical Mental Health Counseling Intern — practicing under the supervision of Dr. Nanci Stafford, MSW, LCSW, LICSW-EdD, and Darla Flores, MA, LCMHCS
• Working toward Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate (LCMHCA) — North Carolina

Insurance & Availability

Michael offers both in-person and telehealth appointments. He accepts private pay and most major insurance plans. He sees clients Monday–Friday.