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Schedule your first appointment. For follow up appointments (existing clients), please contact your therapist at 773-774-4444.
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Hi! I am Melissa (she/hers), a therapist working with adults 18 and older; I believe we are never “too old” to benefit from therapy, and welcome everyone to give it a try. My practice focuses on people navigating life transitions-those we expect, like early, middle, and late adulthood, as well as those we never saw coming. I work with people coping with illness and grief/loss too. Whether that’s loss of people, pets, or of lives or experiences we will never have. Everyone has a unique life story and I would love to join you in exploring how your experiences continue to impact your life today, and to work together to find ways to rewrite your story to reflect your strength and resilience.
I am a CIS gendered, queer white woman.
I do believe in the power of words so I employ traditional talk therapy, CBT, person-centered therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy. Overall I try to tailor my approach to each client because I don’t believe one size fits all. I want this to be a collaborative space so we will work together to find what works best for you.
I have been a clinical social worker in various settings throughout my career. These experiences along with my personal beliefs allow me to provide therapy from a perspective of cultural humility and anti-racism. I work to establish an environment of non-judgement, where you define your desired outcome and I work in partnership with you by maintaining boundaries, keeping sessions on time, and ensuring our time together helps you to move toward your goals. With me, what you see is what you get. I believe in being genuine, which for me means maintaining a sense of humor, always being real, honest, direct, and challenging when needed, but always from a place of care and support.
I believe that we all have everything we need to be successful within us; therapy is a tool to help you tap into the knowledge and ability to adapt that helped you make it this far. Culture, ethnicity, gender, orientation, economics, and environment are only some of the factors that impact our life experience and mental health, and are all important components of therapeutic intervention.
I like to make clients feel comfortable and create a space that doesn’t feel intimidating. I encourage you to come as you are, get comfortable in-office, feel free to take your shoes off or bring in a drink, whatever feels best. If we’re online I encourage you to find a private, safe, and comfortable space. I will keep an eye on the time to ensure we fit everything we need into our session time, but how we use our time is up to you. We will create a treatment plan and goals at the beginning, and keep those in mind to guide us, however we can revise them if circumstances change. I use a conversational style, and will mix in other things-video, hand-outs, homework, depending on the topic and the client’s interest and willingness to participate. My feelings are not easily hurt, and I strongly encourage in-the-moment feedback on anything you’re feeling or thinking.
Outside of work I am a homebody and dog mom to a crazy black pug who rules my life. I also have a huge old cat, and they secretly love each other but pretend to fight. I have a lot of plants I am fairly good at keeping alive, enjoy the hobby of leatherwork (even though I’m vegetarian), and basically only watch true crime on TV. I love to be outside on those rare 75 degree and sunny breezy days, and spend too much time trying to figure out where that magical place is that has that weather year round so I can move there!
Schedule your first appointment. For follow up appointments (existing clients), please contact your therapist at 773-774-4444.