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Adrienne's Story

Adrienne Michelle, LMFT, is a leading African American Marriage and Family Therapist located in the Raleigh/Durham area of North Carolina. She received her Marriage and Family Therapy degree with a specialization in Sex Therapy from Thomas Jefferson University. Her passion comes from a background in sex education, where the communities’ representation has been very limited; thus, she strives to continuously advocate for positive representation in all areas of sex education.

She has been an educator for the past 10 years at several major universities, such as UPENN, Thomas Jefferson University, Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill, and UNC Greensboro, during her time in North Carolina. She is now in private practice and the Co-founder ofNC Diversity and Inclusion where she and her partner help to transform companies and individuals by providing education on unconscious bias and best practices on building diverse and inclusive teams. She strives to continue her advocacy by using an intersectional perspective as a therapist, educator, and public speaker.

She has been featured in the New York Times, as well as a guest on the critically acclaimed podcast, “Therapy for Black Girls” in which she continues to advocate for mental health in queer communities by incorporating gender and sexuality into the conversation of mental health. Aside from therapy and speaking; Adrienne lives in NC with her partner and is a queer-black-feminist, advocate, runner, Janet Jackson fan and dog mom.

A Note From Adrienne

I was born and raised in Newark, NJ and have always had a passion for helping others. As a black, queer, femme I have had no choice but to be intersectional and work to build a path for self. This is something special to queer community because often times we have no blueprint. I have been a facilitator for the majority of my life, starting in college when I began developing diverse and inclusive sex education programs in New Jersey and Maryland. Since becoming a therapist, I have realized that helping people on an individual level is only a part of my passion. I am always focused on creating better systems whether it be with clients, couples, families, organizations or companies. My idea of a healthy self includes having a personal and professional balance, which is why I am only available Mondays-Thursdays. I enjoy meditation, and use body scanning and coaching heavily in practice. As one of very few queer, black, femme, therapists I also offer virtual counseling so no matter where you are you can access a gender and sexually competent therapist who is focused on your happiness and authentic self.