Somewhere in the middle of each Michelle Chappel performance comes the moment when she looks into the audience and asks “Do you have a dream? What is it?” Following your passion is of the utmost importance to the singer-songwriter, whose fifth album Shine was released earlier this year. If Chappel hadn’t followed her bliss, she would still be teaching college psychology instead of singing December 6 at Don Quixote’s International Music Hall.

It’s been more than a decade since Chappel discovered her musical inclinations, and five years since she taught her last class at UC Santa Cruz, where she was once named “Most Inspirational Professor of Psychology.”

“Every year I’m happier than the year before,” said Chappel, who was among the top three winners in the Americana/Folk category of the 2008 Billboard World Song Contest for her single, “No Place Like Home.” “That doesn’t mean there aren’t struggles and more self discovery, but the more I get on that path, the more I feel like I’m healing myself.”

That path has included a top 10 album in South Africa, CD releases in 25 European countries, a song in the UK top 20, performances around the world and a mini-hit (at 28,000 views) on YouTube with her music video of “Screw You Yahoo!”

Her latest video, “You’re an Original,” was filmed in Santa Cruz. The song is about learning about and accepting your gifts, something it took a long time for Chappel to do.

“I like to teach workshops about true passions and gifts because a lot of times you don’t know early in life,” said the psychologist who has consulted for companies including Yahoo!, Google and TiVo.

It wasn’t until she was about to graduate Princeton University with a PhD in psychology that the Atlanta, GA native learned she could could sing. A broken engagement led her to enroll in a community college guitar workshop as a way to break out of the blues. It was there that a teacher helped her discover her voice.

“I was supposed to defend my dissertation a month later, so it was kind of eye-opening and not great timing,” Chappel remembered. “I already had a job waiting for me as a professor. I already had a path I was going down and I had made agreements. I kind of saw myself as one way….”

Instead of nurturing her talent, Chappel ignored it for a few years. All the while, she counseled her students — first at Santa Clara University and later at UC Santa Cruz — to follow their hearts.

“One day…somebody walked out my door and she looked so happy and I suddenly thought ‘Wait a minute, I’m not following my own advice. There’s a dream I have too, that’s buried way way deep, that seems a little bit crazy and that’s to be a rock and roll star.’”

While still teaching, she started writing and performing songs. Marriage brought her to South Africa, where she found a larger audience for her music.

“In South Africa I was a musician and here I was still a professor doing some shows at night. Students would come to the shows, some of my students even played in my band,” Chappel said. “But when I was in South Africa, I actually got signed to Polygram…. I was doing tours and I was on the radio and I was doing interviews on the radio. It was like a complete change of identity.”

Chappel said she feels like she uses her degree in cognitive psychology in both her music and her workshops. She hopes her music will help people heal as individuals and as a society. Women, especially, have responded to the song “You Can Make It” off of the Shine album.

“It’s kind of ambiguous as to what you’re making it through,” Chappel said. “I’ve had people tell me it’s helped them through addictions, it’s helped them to let go of old boyfriends, things like that.”

If she imparts a sense of hope and optimism to her audiences, then Chappel feels like her music has succeeded.

“I want to…plant a little seed to stir up some hidden passion,” she said.

Michelle Chappel at Don Quixote’s International Music Hall, 6275 Highway 9, Felton. $8 in advance, $10 at the door. Under 21 allowed with parent. (831) 603-2294.