You'll be seen, challenged, and better for it.

In Joe's Words

What it's actually like to work with me

I specialize in experiential therapy for adults who feel stuck in repeating emotional patterns, relationship issues, grief, and self-sabotage. My ideal client is ready for change but unsure how to get there, or has tried and feels stuck despite their efforts. If you only want a place to vent, I may not be the right fit. If you want to understand your patterns and actually work with them, I probably am.

Becoming a counselor was a calling for me. My first career was in business, but it wasn't fulfilling. That led me to counseling as a second career. I wanted to help others more directly and had a lot of personal adversity and growth to pull from. I failed algebra twice in high school and later tutored it in college. I know what it means to feel behind and what it takes to move forward.

My style is active and down to earth. We will not just sit and talk in circles. I will pay attention to what is happening as we talk and help you notice the patterns that show up in real time.

I will help you slow down, notice what you feel in your body, and explore the different sides of you that may be pulling in different directions. I will move at your pace, but I will also challenge you so the work helps you experience something different in the session, not just analyze it in your head. The goal is to help you express your emotions more clearly and use them as information instead of fighting against them.

I am not interested in keeping you in therapy longer than needed. My goal is to help you make meaningful changes that carry into your daily life.

In Melissa's Words

I work with adults going through major life changes: women in midlife, including perimenopause and menopause; older adults facing aging, loss, or a new stage of life; and families dealing with complex dynamics such as adult children and aging parents. Many of my clients are carrying grief, anxiety, or old family patterns that keep coming back. In sessions, we will look at what's hard right now and work on it together, at a pace that feels right for you.

I combine talk-based and body-based practices, because stress lives in the body as much as in the mind. My style is calm and unhurried, and I draw from Gestalt, IFS, and Adlerian theory, which help us explore your patterns and where they came from. You'll leave with practical tools for handling stress and hard emotions, not just insights.

I came to this work through my own healing. I grew up with instability and loss, and I know what it's like to carry that in your body and move through it. What matters most to me is sitting with people in the hardest parts of their stories and being living proof that the other side exists. Grief can be carried without being consumed by it, and a peaceful life is still possible.

I hope that you leave our work feeling more at peace in your own body and more resilient in the face of what life brings. That means having real tools for emotional regulation, a nervous system that feels more grounded and at ease, and a clearer relationship with your own grief, anxiety, and history. More deeply, I hope you come to trust yourself—to feel that you can move through hard things and still be whole.