Melissa supports adults and adolescents with trauma, social anxiety, substance abuse, OCD, disordered eating, perfectionism, self-esteem, and burnout. Melissa has both personal and professional experience dealing with these mental health challenges, in addition to anxiety and depression. She is passionate about helping you with these challenges because she has lived through many of them herself.
Melissa is a senior therapist, with well over a decade of experience working in private, community, and hospital-based practices. Melissa also specializes in supporting people with interpersonal challenges, chronic pain, and personality disorders, such as borderline or narcissistic personality disorder. She also supports people with ADHD to manage challenges such as time management and executive dysfunction.
Melissa recognizes that it takes courage for you to trust her and the therapy process. With authenticity and warmth, Melissa can bring awareness to your blind spots and lovingly reflect unhealthy patterns. She doesn’t shy away from challenging situations, whether they are from your past or they arise in therapy. Melissa uses somatic and relational-based interventions like gestalt therapy, and psychedelic-assisted therapy, where she supports individuals with psychedelic integration. Melissa believes you have inherent strengths and will equip you with skills to live a fuller life. Melissa offers EMDR from an attachment and somatic-focused perspective to support people with trauma, phobias, panic attacks, self-esteem, eating disorders, and addictions. She also uses cognitive behavioural therapy and dialectical behaviour therapy in sessions.
Melissa's sessions are informal, conversational, and experiential. Melissa uses a holistic approach in her practice because she is aware of the mind, body, and spirit connection. Her own spiritual practices include meditating, energy massage therapy, and dancing (body movement). She also loves cats and got a kitten over COVID to help her get through it. If you're looking for an experienced, non-judgmental, and compassionate therapist, she is ready to meet you!
Melissa is the co-author of the bookEating Disorders: Causes, Diagnosis and Treatments.
Master of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University
Bachelor of Social Work (Honours), Lakehead University
Bachelor of Science (Honours), University of Toronto
EMDRIA-Approved EMDR Basic Training (Personal Transformation Institute)
Brief & Narrative Therapy (Windz Institute)
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy: Beyond the Basics (OISE)
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Foundations (OISE)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Fundamentals (OISE)
Emotional Freedom Technique (Free Your Emotions)
Gestalt Therapy (Gestalt Institute of Toronto)
Reiki Practitioner
Certified Laughter Yoga Instructor (Laughter Yoga International)
Mindfulness Training (Daniel Siegel)
Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers
Ontario Association of Social Workers