Moving Forward, PLC was created by our founder Michele Cole, Ph.D., LCSW in 2007. Each therapist that consults for Moving Forward, PLC has been thoroughly vetted and holds the highest levels of integrity and education and training. She feels confident that any therapist you choose to work with at Moving Forward, PLC will give you what you need to move forward in your life. Our combined work here at Moving Forward, PLC seeks to help all people who engage in the therapeutic process to make changes in their lives that are significant and will impact their future and how they engage with others and help them further their ability to make directive choices in their lives and the lives of others.
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Moving Forward, PLC is approved as an out of network provider for Tricare to support our military families. Although Moving Forward PLC does not participate with any insurances, many clients submit for reimbursement. Please call or email us for more information, or to discuss setting up a virtual or in-person appointment.
Michele Cole, Ph.D., LCSW
Past Adjunct Professor at Ramapo College of New Jersey teaching Human Behavior in the Social Environment – Theory; Past Adjunct Professor in the MSW program at The Catholic University of America teaching Human Development and Psychopathology, Clinical Social Work with Adults, and Trauma Informed Care. Past Adjunct Professor in the BSW program at George Mason University teaching Human Behavior in The Social Environment I and Methods of Intervention in Social Work.
Dr. Cole founded Moving Forward, PLC, a group private practice in Old Town, Alexandria in 2007 to help to meet the needs of the DMV area to support individuals and families; based on a family systems approach. Moving Forward, PLC has many therapists working as a team to help meet all the needs of clients who walk in the door. She has been an Adjunct Professor at George Mason University, The Catholic University of America, and Ramapo College of New Jersey. Dr. Cole earned her Ph.D. in philosophy with a distinction in clinical social work in 2020 successfully defending her dissertation on children and young adults from divorced families; her dissertation is linked here. Dr. Cole has conducted individual, couples, family and group therapy. In the past she has conducted school observations to help parents and school administrators best accommodate children and adolescents with special needs. Further, she has reviewed and advocated to school appointed Individual Education Plan (IEP) teams. Dr. Cole has significant experience in working with issues relating to anxiety, separation/divorce, trauma, depression, social skills, addictions, grief, anger management, compulsive behaviors (OCD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, and Tourette’s syndrome.