Ricci Oppenlander

Ricci Oppenlander is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) who uses mindfulness-based strategies to help people manage stressful life moments. She focuses on building practical skills rooted in a person’s values. Sessions aim to be direct and goal-oriented while keeping a respectful, trusting relationship.

Ricci works mainly with adults dealing with depression and anxiety and the everyday struggles those bring. She helps people notice patterns that get in the way and then practices small changes that add up. Her work draws on mindfulness, acceptance and commitment therapy, and cognitive behavioral approaches to help clients respond differently to difficult thoughts and feelings.

In sessions she leans on client-centered and attachment-based ideas to keep the conversation grounded in each person’s experience. That means a lot of listening, asking clear questions, and trying out new behaviors between meetings. She encourages clients to identify their values and take steps that match what matters to them.

Ricci also supports people coping with grief, relationship and family concerns, addictions, career shifts, and issues like compassion fatigue and workplace stress. Additional focus areas include communication problems, forgiveness, life purpose, and multicultural concerns.

With eight years of counseling experience in Michigan, Ricci blends practical tools with an emphasis on self-awareness. She aims to help people find direction, build resilience, and create a clearer path toward things that feel meaningful to them.

Mindfulness and ACT approaches for online sessions

Ricci integrates mindfulness techniques that help people notice their thoughts and bodily reactions without getting swept away by them. Mindfulness work often focuses on breathing, grounding exercises, and short practices to use during stressful moments, which can help with anxiety, stress, and depression.

She also uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help people clarify what matters most to them and take small committed steps toward those values. ACT combines acceptance of difficult feelings with practical behavior changes, which can be useful for coping with life transitions, grief, and workplace strain.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Ricci will talk with each person about goals, needs, and preferences and then try approaches that fit. That process is collaborative and may change over time as goals evolve.

If you are considering online sessions, confirm the current session options before booking since formats are not specified in the biography. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time. It also lets people practice skills in their everyday settings, which can help transfer new habits into daily life.