About Michael

Clinical training. Military background. No performance required.

Michael Jenkins, MS, MSW, LCSW is a U.S. Army combat veteran, former Army officer, and Illinois Licensed Clinical Social Worker. He owns Never Forgotten Services, PLLC, where he provides direct, practical therapy for veterans, military members, first responders, retirees, and families carrying the weight of service, stress, trauma, transition, and life after the job follows them home.

Never Forgotten Services was built from a simple conviction: the people who serve others should not have to carry the cost alone. Families often carry that cost too, through the stress, silence, anger, grief, shutdown, and slow changes that can happen over time.

Why this practice exists

Military service, first responder work, and public safety roles ask people to absorb things most people will never see. The cost does not always show up right away. Sometimes it shows up later as sleep problems, irritability, distance at home, grief, burnout, over-control, numbness, or not feeling like yourself.

This practice exists because generic therapy language often misses that reality. The goal is not to dress things up, force a script, or tell people to just talk about it. The goal is to understand what is happening, what it is costing, and what needs to change next.

What clients can expect

Sessions are calm, direct, and structured. You do not need to perform, impress, or explain everything at once.

The work focuses on what is happening now, what keeps repeating, and what can be done next. That may include trauma, anger, shutdown, grief, burnout, family strain, reintegration, identity changes, or the slow wear-and-tear that builds after years of carrying too much.

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Why this approach feels different

Michael brings clinical training, Army leadership experience, combat deployment experience, crisis-response background, and years of work with veterans, first responders, and families into the room.

That does not mean therapy becomes a war story contest or a lecture. It means the culture does not have to be translated from scratch. The work can move faster into what matters: daily life, relationships, sleep, anger, stress, grief, and the parts of you that feel harder to access than they used to.

Professional background

Owner and therapist, Never Forgotten Services, PLLC (2022 to present).
U.S. Army veteran and former Army officer (2007 to 2018).
Combat deployment experience.
Former crisis team lead with mobile crisis response experience (Rosecrance Health Network, 2018 to 2019).
Former therapist with trauma-informed clinical experience (The Rock Counseling Group, 2019 to 2022).
Co-founder and former president of The Anchor Point, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Speaker and trainer on trauma-informed care, burnout, moral injury, operational stress, and wellness in high-stress professions.

Credentials and education

Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Illinois License #149021461.
Master of Social Work, University of Illinois, 2017.
Master of Science, Environmental Management, Webster University, 2011.
Bachelor of Arts, Biology, University of Missouri-Rolla, 2006.

Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Illinois. Therapy is available to Illinois residents only.

If you are outside Illinois, use the contact form for next-step guidance and referral direction.

Who this work is built for

Individual and family therapy is offered for veterans, military members, first responders, retirees, and loved ones navigating service-related stress.

Common focus areas include trauma, grief, chronic stress, reintegration challenges, burnout, family strain, and the pressure that can build when the mission changes but service does not fully switch off.