Exploring Life & Business with Michelle Zipser of Cognitive Care and Counseling

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Zipser.

Hi Michelle, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I love my job and I believe I was put on this earth do this work. My interest began when I was a Family Studies and Human Development major at Arizona State University. I was fascinated by Family Systems Theory and human development. My graduate studies in Social Work led me to my work as a Medical Social Worker at Hospice of the Valley where I worked for 18 years prior to being able to devote myself full-time to my practice. Prior to landing at HOV, I cared for a woman who had advanced dementia in her home a few days a week. This was one of the most difficult roles I have ever had and I learned so much. I was as green as could be but had a great desire to help. While still caring for her, I walked into a job fair (found out once I was there it was for nurses) and went to the Hospice of the Valley booth where I was told they didn’t hire into the hospice side unless you had prior experience. She did however, mention their Home Health program was hiring and gave me the name of a woman who I will be forever grateful, Jane Irvine. I reached out and was hired on the spot. So, I began my work in the Home Health Department, which was where the first dementia program was launched. That program was called the HOME Program (Helping Our Memory impaired Elders) and I would visit individuals living with dementia and their care partners. Along with a nurse, we would do education on disease progression as well as provide support and resources. I eventually left that program and transitioned full-time into the hospice side of the agency. From there I worked in the Palliative Care Units, Triage, Home Hospice Care, Resource Team and eventually back to the Dementia Program as the Dementia Program Social Worker. I learned so much during my tenure there and I developed a deep curiosity and passion for working with and supporting people living with dementia and their care partners. Also during that time, I cared for both of my parents through the end of their lives while also juggling raising my young children and full time work. My personal experience has also had a profound impact on me. During the pandemic, my work with our patients and their families was especially important since I would be the only other human they would see most of the time. I witnessed so much suffering during that time as well as the aftermath of staffing issues and burnout, I knew it was time to think about expanding my horizons. I assessed that ongoing, personalized support and therapy for care partners and people in the early stages of dementia was non existent. I, in turn, decided to open my practice in order to remedy this. I began by just doing one day a week on telehealth while also working at HOV the other days. After one year of this, I had enough clients that I was able to leave my position at HOV and work full- time in my practice. I began this journey in 2021 and am so grateful to still be here after having met and assisted many wonderful people on their journeys. Using different psychotherapy techniques has been extremely pivotal in helping people have real healing and growth while also caring for their person living with dementia as well people in the early stages of brain changes. It’s been an incredible thing to witness. Today, I am about to take the Independent Social Worker exam (LCSW) which will open up more opportunities for growth both personally and professionally. I look forward to teaching others the methods I have come up that work best in caring for families dealing with dementia.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a learning process the whole way through. First, transitioning to providing psychotherapy was a big adjustment. The work I did as a Hospice Social Worker was the most incredible and transformative work I’ve ever done and was something that came very naturally to me. Working with the chronically and terminally ill as well as their families has it’s own unique rhythm and flow and is very different from practicing psychotherapy. When I started my practice, I was not able to find anyone else doing this work and dementia was not discussed the way it is today. I looked for literature to help guide me but also found that there was not much out there. I was truly a lone wolf needing to create a path forward and in many ways I still am. I’m grateful we’re having more conversations about dementia and caregiving. My goal is in this work is to support the care partner and the person living with dementia so they may have the best quality of life possible by not feeling alone. I want them to feel seen, heard and held by someone who truly cares. I also hope to train others to do the same.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Cognitive Care and Counseling?
I have a psychotherapy practice in Chandler. I see my clients in-person and via telehealth. My work focuses on supporting people living with dementia and their families as well as older adults going through life transitions and bereavement support. What sets me apart is that the population I focus on is one that not many people will work with in this capacity (people in early stages of dementia or MCI). I also bring personal and professional experience into this realm so I have a deep understanding for what my clients are experiencing. Choosing a therapist who doesn’t have an understanding of dementia and caregiving is a deal breaker as I have witnessed. I am proud of how I have created a space where there was none and how I use my skills and my voice for advocacy and to support our community. I am most proud though, of the work I’ve been able to do with my clients and to get to watch them grow and heal and claim back their happiness in the midst of great challenges. I have worked with people who have never had therapy and may have been resistant to trying in the past due to stigmas, personal blockages, etc. but who had to try it because they were desperate for help. I’ve watched those people, who decided to stick with it, become proponents for therapy at every age and are becoming examples to their friends and families of how beneficial therapy can be. When you heal yourself, you are also healing your lineage and community. You don’t need to be in crisis in order to benefit from therapy and it doesn’t need to end when you’re out of the crisis. Therapy is something that you can give yourself at any age and for any length of time. It’s never too late to heal and grow. Choosing the right therapist for you and who you feel comfortable with is the one of the most important aspects of therapy. I want people to also know that therapy is not what you see on TV. In reality, therapists are held to a very high ethical standard, as they should be, in order to protect themselves and their clients. Another part of my work is doing community presentations, advocacy and working on committees that further community awareness and implementation of best practices for people living with dementia and their care partners. This is social work at it’s best for me and I am a very proud social worker.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I define success as doing what I love that supports and promotes the dignity and well being of others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cognitivecareandcounseling.com
• Instagram: Cognitivecareandcounseling
• LinkedIn: Michelle Zipser and Cognitive Care and Counseling