Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Savage LMFT PMHC.
Hi Michelle, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m Michelle Savage, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the owner of Resilient Corazones Counseling in Central Florida. When most people think about therapy, they imagine helping someone manage stress or anxiety. The work I do often begins in a quieter place — with grief that many people don’t immediately recognize as grief.
My connection to this work is both professional and deeply personal. In my early twenties, I was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus and underwent aggressive medical treatments that affected my fertility. My husband and I were suddenly facing decisions about our future that most couples our age were not yet considering. We experienced uncertainty, loss of expectations, and the emotional strain that comes when the path to parenthood no longer looks the way you once imagined. Ultimately, we chose to grow our family through adoption and welcomed our child from birth, who is now 10 years old. Walking through that season gave me a lived understanding of how infertility affects not only individuals, but relationships, identity, and hope.
Over the years, I noticed a pattern in my office. Couples would come in saying they were arguing more, feeling distant, or not understanding each other the way they once did. They often believed their relationship was the problem. But as their stories unfolded, it became clear they were both carrying the same invisible weight: the infertility journey. Month after month of hope and disappointment was reshaping how they communicated, how they saw themselves, and how they connected as partners.
My path into this field started in community mental health and nonprofit agencies, and later included more than a decade working with veterans and their families. Those experiences shaped how I view healing — not just as an individual process, but as something that happens within relationships and family systems. Today in my private practice, I support individuals and couples navigating infertility, pregnancy and postpartum changes, reproductive loss, and the emotional transitions into parenthood.
Infertility is often misunderstood because it doesn’t always look like a loss from the outside. Friends and family may offer encouragement, but couples are privately coping with uncertainty, medical stress, financial pressure, and a deep sense of isolation. Many partners grieve differently, and instead of moving closer together, they can begin to feel alone within their own relationship. Much of my work focuses on helping them understand that they are not on opposite sides — they are responding to the same pain in different ways.
In addition to my clinical work, I remain active in the professional community. I served as President of the Central Florida Association for Marriage and Family Therapy from 2015 to 2017, and I currently serve as Treasurer of the Central Florida Postpartum Alliance, where I help advocate for greater awareness and access to perinatal mental health support in our community.
One thing I wish more people understood about infertility is how common it actually is. Many couples are quietly walking through it, but the stigma surrounding difficulty conceiving something that seems to come naturally to others makes it very hard to talk about. Because of that, people often suffer in silence and feel deeply isolated, even while surrounded by friends, family, and social media announcements. A large part of my work is helping individuals and couples realize they are not alone and that their reactions — grief, anger, hope, and even relationship strain — are human responses to a very real loss.
At its heart, my practice exists to remind people that struggling during the path to parenthood does not mean something is wrong with them or their relationship. Sometimes it means they are navigating something deeply human, and they don’t have to do it alone.
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?
The road has not always been smooth. In the early years of my career, stepping into private practice felt out of reach due to limited experience, a need for greater stability, and a lack of guidance. Securing post-master’s supervision as a Marriage and Family Therapy intern was also a challenge, as opportunities were limited. Fortunately, I eventually joined an organization that offered supervision as part of its benefits, and that became a pivotal turning point. From there, I steadily built my professional network and deepened my training across various therapeutic modalities. Those experiences ultimately helped me discover and refine my niche in perinatal mental health, couples counseling, and grief and loss.
As you know, we’re big fans of Resilient Corazones Counseling PLLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Michelle provides virtual counseling practice serving the State of Florida, specializing in perinatal and postnatal mental health, couples counseling, trauma-informed care, and grief and loss. She provides compassionate, culturally attuned support to birthing individuals, parents, and families navigating fertility challenges, pregnancy, postpartum transitions, loss, and early parenting. Her work honors each client’s lived experience and emphasizes empowerment through connection and understanding.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I am not sure I am pretty open and transparent with my colleagues and clients
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