I am a licensed marriage and family therapist and the co-founder of Collaborative Counseling Institute. I am trained in helping people who are struggling in various areas of their life. Some of these areas include:
- Life and Family Transitions
- Mental Health Struggles – such as anxiety and depression
- Neurodivergent Challenges
- Parenting Struggles
- Trauma – such as Betrayal, PTSD, and c-PTSD
- Medical Diagnoses
- Relationship issues – such as Disconnection, Infidelity, and Communication Problems.
I work with you throughout the therapy process to guide you towards your goals, overcome your challenges, and improve your relationships. My style is curious, empathetic, and non-judgmental and I make sure you feel understood and seen each time we meet.
I understand that people are often just stuck in a cycle or pattern that is negatively impacting them, but don’t know how to change it. My goal is to help you break free and create new patterns that empower you to live the life you want.
I look forward to meeting you!
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 to less frequently.
Many people come to therapy hurting and want to feel better quickly. However, therapy is a process. Patterns in individuals and relationships are developed and established over time. 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, if not all, of our sessions, and any individual time will be spent working towards your relationship goals. Couples often are looking to learn new ways of communicating and connecting, which means we will often spend our sessions practicing new tools. Since therapy is only 45-50 minutes at a time, much of the improvement you 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, either through brief check-ins, splitting the session time between the teen and parent, or including parents in the therapy room with their 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 with the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners (AZBBHE).
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) trained with AZEFT, Externship and Core Skills.
- EMDR therapy trained with LK Institute, an approved EMDRIA trainer and consultant.
- Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist Individual (CCTSI) with Trauma Institute International.
- IFS Level 1 Training in Process through the IFS Institute.