Meet Ethany Michaud, LCSW
(she/her)
Somatic Trauma Therapist · Certified Brainspotting Practitioner · Founder, Circle City Alliance Therapy & Consulting · Indianapolis, Indiana
Why I Became a Therapist - The Honest Version.
In elementary school, I told my mom I thought I might want to grow up to be a counselor — because all of my friends came to me when something was wrong. I didn't have a word for it then, but I already understood something: people need a safe place to put their pain. And I wanted to be that place.
A few years later, a career quiz in middle school confirmed what I already suspected. And then life confirmed it in a way I didn't expect.
As a teenager growing up in Pendleton, Indiana in the early 2000s, I struggled with anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. Mental health wasn't viewed the way it is today — especially not in a small town. The resources weren't there. I was often dismissed and invalidated, cycled back to my primary care doctor, who would adjust my medications and send me home. Nothing helped. Nothing touched what was actually happening.
Looking back now, I know exactly what I needed. I needed to feel safe. I needed to feel heard. I needed someone to sit with me in it — not fix it, not medicate it, not send me home with a pamphlet or told to “just exercise more and track my diet” (that’s a real thing that was said to me at 17) — but to actually be present with me and help me feel less alone in what I was carrying.
I didn't get that until adulthood. And that experience — the loneliness of it, the helplessness of reaching out and not being met — is the reason I do this work.
I became a therapist because I know what it feels like to need a safe space and not have one. And I built CCA Therapy so that nobody who walks through my door has to feel that way.
My training & Clinical Background
I earned my Master of Social Work from Indiana University and have been a therapist for ten years — working across community mental health, substance use treatment, therapeutic foster care, and private group practice before opening CCA Therapy in December 2024.
That range of settings was deliberate. I wanted to understand trauma not just in theory, but in the places where it actually lives — in the lives of children in foster care who had never known a safe, consistent adult; in veterans navigating the aftermath of war; in people whose addiction was always a symptom of something deeper; in survivors of domestic violence and sexual trauma who had been told their reality wasn't real.
More than a decade of that work taught me things no classroom could. The most important: that people don't "behave badly" or "struggle unnecessarily." They are doing exactly what makes sense given what they've experienced. The job of a good therapist isn't to judge that or override it — it's to see the pain underneath and create enough safety that it can finally begin to move.
My credentials include:
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) — Indiana, Ohio & Florida
Certified Brainspotting Practitioner (Phase 1 & 2 trained & certified, practicing since 2022)
10+ years of clinical experience across trauma, addiction, grief, and co-occurring disorders
What It's Actually Like to Be in a Session With Me
I've had clients tell me they felt safe and genuinely seen within the first few sessions — sometimes in the very first one. That matters more to me than almost any clinical outcome I could name, because I know that safety isn't just a nice feeling — it's the biological prerequisite for any real healing to happen.
My office is designed to feel like the opposite of a clinical setting. No fluorescent lights, no sterile furniture, no clipboard held between us like a barrier. Comfortable chairs, warm lighting, plants, a coffee and tea bar just for you. A space that says: you can exhale here.
My approach is person-centered and relationship-centered first — always. Before any modality, before any treatment plan, before Brainspotting or somatic work or anything else, the foundation has to be there: a space where you feel safe enough to say what's actually true, feel what you actually feel, and trust that none of it will be too much for me.
Because it won't be. I've sat with some of the heaviest things a person can carry. I don't flinch. I don't redirect you toward the comfortable version of your story. I stay present with the real one.
Once that foundation is in place, I bring over a decade of specialized clinical training to the work — including Brainspotting, which I use in my own therapy and believe in at a level that goes well beyond my credentials. I also draw from somatic therapy, Polyvagal Theory, DBT, Motivational Interviewing, CBT, and parts work — building a treatment approach that's as specific to you as the pain you're carrying.
There is no script here. No predetermined finish line. Just two people working together toward whatever you actually need.
A Little More About Me
I grew up in Pendleton, Indiana and now live in Indianapolis with my husband and our four beloved animals — all named after Star Wars characters: Kix (our therapy dog Goldendoodle), Revan, Ezra, and Binks. Our pets are all named after Star Wars characters. And in a wonderful full-circle moment, a client of mine suggested the name Kix for our therapy dog, as it also hails from the Star Wars universe (even if it IS a deep cut!). It seems fitting that Kix was named by the very clients I have him sit with.
When I'm not in session, you'll find me:
🎭 On the board for Theatre Unchained — an Indianapolis theatre company I'm passionate about supporting
🥾 Hiking Indiana's state parks — there's something about being in nature that resets everything
✈️ Traveling with my husband and our close friends whenever we can
📚 Reading — always in the middle of something
🐾 Being completely devoted to four animals who have collectively decided they run this household
I also believe strongly in practicing what I preach. I do my own therapy. I do my own Brainspotting work. I take care of my nervous system because I know what happens when I don't — and because I think therapists who do their own work are simply better at it.
Meet Kix — Certified Therapy Dog & Chief Comfort Officer
Hi, I'm Kix! I'm a Goldendoodle, professional snuggler, and the official therapy dog here at CCA Therapy. My job is to help you feel safe, seen, and supported — one paw at a time.
I'm available for sessions with Ethany if you'd like some extra warmth — and if you'd rather I take a nap in the other room, I'm genuinely great at that too. No pressure either way.
You'll usually find me curled up next to someone on the couch, offering quiet comfort (or a full lap nap, if that's more your style). I specialize in something humans call deep pressure therapy — but really it just means I become your personal fuzzy weighted blanket when things feel heavy. Panic and anxiety have a hard time sticking around when I'm on duty.
I also love going on "toy parade" — my very important ritual of showing off the coolest things in my collection. It's my way of breaking the ice and reminding everyone that healing doesn't always have to be serious. Sometimes it involves squeaky toys.
Fun fact: my name was suggested by one of Ethany's former clients — a Star Wars fan who picked it from the Star Wars universe to match the rest of the family. I think it suits me perfectly.
Whether you're here to talk, breathe, cry, laugh, or just need a little extra warmth — I'll be right here if you want me. Four paws, open heart, zero judgment.
Paws-itively yours, Kix 🐾
Credentials & Licensure
Ethany Michaud, LCSW Licensed Clinical Social Worker Licensed in Indiana, Ohio & Florida
Education: Master of Social Work — Indiana University
Certifications & Training:
Certified Brainspotting Practitioner
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)
Motivational Interviewing
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Trauma-Focused CBT
Clinical Experience:
15+ years working with trauma, PTSD, C-PTSD, addiction, grief, and anxiety
Community mental health
Substance use and dual diagnosis treatment
Therapeutic foster care (CHINS court advocacy)
Private Practice
Let’s talk and see if therapy with me might be a good next step.
If anything you've read here resonates — if you recognized yourself in something, or simply felt a little less alone — I'd love to talk.
The free 15-minute consultation is just a conversation. No paperwork, no pressure, no commitment. We'll see if it feels like a fit.
In-person at our office in Northwest Indianapolis near Carmel and Zionsville. Telehealth throughout Indiana, Ohio, and Florida.