Welcome~I am so glad you’re here. I know that reaching out for support can feel like a big step, and I want you to know that you’re not alone. My work is all about helping couples and individuals reconnect, communicate more openly, heal trauma, and move through challenges with care and understanding. Whether you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or just want to strengthen your relationships, I am here to walk alongside you with warmth, compassion, and a down-to-earth approach that meets you where you are.
My approach is always to work collaboratively with you, in building a secure therapeutic relationship, creating goals, and utilizing the types of therapy that work best for you. As we do this together, my hope is that you feel empowered throughout the therapy process and reach the goals you have for yourself, your relationship, and your life. My role is to be a guide for you as you overcome your challenges, heal your trauma, and improve your relationships.
I look forward to meeting you!
Specialties
Most of my clients are working on one or more of the following areas:
- Relationships – including Attachment, Disconnection, Communication, Intimacy, Infidelity, Neurodivergence, etc.
- Life and Family Changes – including New Parenthood, Empty Nest, Emerging Adulthood, Parenting Struggles, etc.
- Trauma – including Betrayal, Religious, Financial, Abuse, Childhood, Medical, etc.
- Medical Diagnoses and Chronic Illness – including autoimmune disease, perimenopause, chronic pain, etc.
- Anxiety and Depression
Please reach out if you are unsure if I am the right fit for your needs!
Therapy types
As an experienced marriage and family therapist, I have extensive training in multiple types of therapy. These include:
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS)
- EMDR
I also utilize:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Solution Focused Therapy
- Narrative Therapy
- Structural Therapy
- other trauma-informed methods
Many people don’t know what any of this means and that’s ok! I am more than happy to explain what types therapy might be beneficial and appropriate for you and your goals. If you have a specific therapy that you would like to use, please ask!
What to Expect
I offer a free 15 minute consultation phone call which can help both of us determine if I might be a good fit for you and your needs. Please let me know if this is something you would like and I will reach out to schedule it. If we decide to move forward with scheduling an appointment, you will be sent intake documents to be reviewed and signed prior to our first meeting. I will review these with you in our first session, so please come with any questions.
Many people want to know what the entire therapy process will look like. During the initial 1-3 session assessment period, I will ask a lot of questions in order to fully understand you, your relationships, your history, and your current struggles. This will help us determine your therapy goals and create a plan that will help you reach those goals. In the beginning, we will meet more often in order to complete the assessment and jumpstart the therapeutic process. As you start to see improvements and new patterns and behaviors emerge, we will spread sessions out and meet less frequently.
Many people come to therapy hurting and want to feel better quickly. However, therapy is a process. Patterns are developed and established over time, and it takes time and practice to change those patterns and develop new ways of thinking, behaving, interacting, and connecting. Every client is different, as is their relationship history, the types of issues they are facing, what their goals are, their trauma and relationship injuries, and how much effort they put into the therapy process. As such, results will vary. My goal as a therapist is to help you obtain those results as quickly as possible.
Couples
For couples, I will meet with both of you together for most of our sessions after the initial assessment period. Couples often are looking to learn new ways of communicating and connecting, which means we will often spend our sessions learning and practicing new tools. Since therapy sessions are only 50-55 minutes long, much of the improvement you will see in your relationship will depend on how much you practice these tools in your daily interactions.
Adolescents
For all appointments with teens, at least one parent/caregiver will need to come and stay for each session. I will often utilize the parents in the therapy process, and want to help you learn how to best help your teen. I find that building rapport with teens is of utmost importance in order for therapy to be successful. As I create a therapeutic relationship with your teen, I will determine how to involve you in a way that will benefit the process.
Experience
Education
Arizona State University
Masters of Advanced Studies, Marriage and Family Therapy
Arizona State University
Bachelor’s degree, Family and Human Development
Private Practice
Collaborative Counseling Institute, LLC – Owner and Supervisor
Melanie Scott Marriage and Family Therapy, LLC – Providing psychotherapy to Individuals, Couples, and Adolescents.
Licenses and Trainings
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Supervisor
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) trained
- IFS Level 1 trained
- EMDR trained