I am a licensed marriage and family therapist trained in helping couples, families, adolescents, and individuals who are struggling in various areas of their life. Some of these challenges include life changes, family transitions, mental or medical health diagnoses, trauma, disconnection, infidelity, and communication problems. I collaborate with you throughout the therapy process, helping you work towards overcoming your challenges and improve your relationships and your mental and emotional health.
My style is calm, compassionate, curious, and non-judgmental. I ensure that you feel heard in the therapy room. 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
Once you contact me, and if it is something you are interested in, I can set up a 15 minute consult phone call in order to see if I am a good fit for you. This is an opportunity for you to get a feel for my style as well as for me to understand you and the challenges you are facing. Please let me know if this is something you would like.
After you schedule an appointment, you will be sent 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.
I ask many questions during the initial assessment period in order to fully understand you, your relationships, and your struggles. At the end of the first session, I will check in with you to make sure you feel comfortable with me and my approach and to make sure I am a good fit for you and your needs.
Many people want to know what the entire therapy process will look like. In the beginning, we will meet more often in order for me to assess the problem 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 have been developed and are established over time, and as such, 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. Sometimes couples will need individual time, but this will be at my discretion, as not all couples benefit from it. Couples often are looking to learn new ways of communicating and connecting, which means we will often spend in our sessions learning and 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 will need to come to each session with their child. I will often utilize the parents in the therapy process, either through brief check-ins, splitting time with the parent and teen, 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
Melanie Scott Marriage and Family Therapy, LLC: Providing psychotherapy to Individuals, Couples, and Adolescents. Previously supervised by Patricia Dobratz, JD, LMFT
Insight Relationship Institute: Providing Couples, Individual, Adolescent, and Family psychotherapy services. Supervised and employed by Tiffany Moser, MAS LMFT.
Arizona Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic (Gilbert): Provided psychotherapy services for Couples, Individuals, and Families for various mental health and relationship issues.
Licenses and Certifications:
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners (AZBBHE).
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) trained with AZEFT.
Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist Individual (CCTSI) with Trauma Institute International.
Trained in EMDR therapy with LK Institute, an approved EMDRIA trainer and consultant.