Melissa is a Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate student at Bellevue University who believes therapy is most meaningful when people feel genuinely seen, understood, and safe enough to explore what is happening beneath the surface. She approaches counseling with warmth, curiosity, and collaboration, recognizing that each person brings their own experiences, strengths, challenges, and ways of making sense of the world. She works from a person-centered, integrative perspective, drawing on Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Therapy, Parts Work, mindfulness, somatic-informed approaches, and skills from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Rather than believing one approach works for everyone, she adapts therapy to the individual and what feels meaningful and useful to them.

Melissa has a particular interest in anxiety, ADHD and neurodivergence, emotional regulation, relationship and family concerns, life transitions, self-esteem, and patterns that may no longer be serving someone well. Her own experience receiving an ADHD diagnosis as an adult helped shape her interest in the many ways neurodivergence can present across individuals and stages of life and strengthened her appreciation for looking beyond labels to understand the whole person. She values creating an inclusive and affirming space where people of all identities can feel respected and supported. Melissa is especially interested in the connection between thoughts, emotions, relationships, past experiences, and the body’s response to stress, helping clients build greater self-understanding, self-trust, and curiosity toward themselves rather than judgment.

Melissa earned her bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Sciences from Bellevue University and expects to complete her master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in March 2027. She is also certified in Reiki I and II and has a broader interest in mindfulness, the mind-body connection, and integrative approaches to wellness. Originally from the Pittsburgh, PA area, Melissa has called Omaha home since 2011. Outside of counseling, she enjoys spending time with her husband, two children, and two cats, exploring holistic wellness practices, and continuing to learn about the many ways people heal, grow, and reconnect with themselves.