Dr. Michelle Stevens is an expert on overcoming obstacles. After suffering a childhood of horrendous abuse, she conquered impossible adversity in order to build a joyous, successful, satisfying life. Now, she is on a mission to help others achieve the happy, hopeful lives they deserve.

As a psychologist, Dr. Stevens is in a unique position to write and speak about overcoming hardship. At the age of eight, she was coerced into a child sex ring and trafficked for the rest of her childhood. Due to the abuse, Michelle developed severe mental illness. Determined not to let disability diminish her life, Stevens worked tirelessly to mend her mind through psychotherapy.

​In time, Michelle healed and went on to study writing at New York University. Later, she entered the doctoral program in psychology at Saybrook University where her thesis was honored as the 2012 Dissertation of Distinction. She now uses her unique perspective as both patient and therapist to explain psychological issues from the inside out and the outside in. 

Stevens is author of the best-selling book, Scared Selfless: My Journey from Abuse and Madness to Surviving and Thriving (Putnam, 2017). She has presented her research to the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation and the Los Angeles County Psychological Association, where she received an award for Outstanding Research. Her writing about trauma has appeared in The New York Times, Time, People, The Huffington Post, Psychology Today, Good Housekeeping, and The Hollywood Reporter.

As a clinical psychologist and life coach, Dr. Stevens has been honored to help hundreds of people through her work at various social service organizations and in private practice. She has spoken publicly about overcoming adversity to organizations around the globe, encouraging survivors to fight for better lives.​