About Michael
Dr. Michael Vigil greets people who are feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, grief, relationship problems, or struggles with addiction. He focuses on clear, practical steps people can use right away.
He offers straightforward conversations and tools that aim to make daily life more manageable. He trained in psychology and counseling and holds a Doctor of Philosophy in clinical-community psychology. He also has multiple graduate degrees in psychology and counseling and lists LPC as his credential.
Background and approach
That background shaped work across many behavioral health settings in Alaska. In sessions he draws on person-centered and behavioral ideas. That means talks are collaborative and focus on skills people can practice between meetings.
He leans on evidence-based methods such as acceptance and commitment and cognitive-behavioral approaches to address mood, trauma, and substance concerns. He pays attention to how culture and life story affect thinking and behavior. He looks for strengths people already have and helps apply those strengths to current problems.
Communication, commitment, and intimacy issues are common topics he helps people sort through. Dr. Vigil also brings experience with trauma, grief, anger, and relationship rupture.
He integrates different therapies to match what a person needs in the moment. The work tends to be practical, direct, and focused on real-life change.
Therapeutic approaches used in online care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting pulled into them, then focus on actions that match their values. It is often used for anxiety, mood struggles, and life transitions.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy looks at links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and teaches practical skills to change unhelpful patterns. It is commonly used for anxiety, depression, and coping with stress.
He treats the choice of approach as a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about current needs, goals, and preferences and adapt methods as those needs change. Together they decide which tools to try first and check progress over time.
Online sessions can fit into busy schedules and reduce travel time. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation for skill practice, while phone sessions need less bandwidth and can be easier to fit into a work break. Live chat or text-based messaging can be used for shorter check-ins, written reflections, or when typing feels more comfortable than talking.
Questions people ask
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What this counselor works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Anger management
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Men's issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self esteem
- Trauma and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Existential Therapy
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Gottman Method
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Experience
- 11 years
- Licensed
- Alaska
- Languages
- English