Melissa Meengs, LMSW

Melissa Meengs is a licensed social worker in Michigan with 20 years of clinical experience. She focuses on practical ways to reduce anxiety, manage stress, and cope with depression. Melissa helps people build confidence and find clearer direction when life feels overwhelming.

She favors straightforward tools from cognitive behavioral therapy to help spot unhelpful thinking and try different behaviors. Mindfulness exercises are used to slow racing thoughts and bring attention back to the present. Melissa also draws on dialectical behavior therapy skills for strong emotions and motivational interviewing to support small steps toward change.

Sessions aim to be conversational and goal-focused. Melissa works at a pace set by the person in front of her, breaking bigger problems into manageable steps. She pays attention to attachment and abandonment concerns when those patterns affect relationships and mood.

Beyond mood and anxiety, Melissa supports people facing caregiver stress, life transitions, feelings of shame or guilt, and problems with impulsivity or isolation. She also helps people process traumatic experiences and panic symptoms with practical coping strategies.

Her style is warm and direct. People meet clear plans they can try between sessions and adjustments are made based on what helps. Melissa offers services in English and sees clients both inside and outside the United States.

Therapeutic approaches explained for online care

Melissa often uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help people identify unhelpful thoughts and try different actions. CBT breaks problems into specific thoughts, feelings, and behaviors so you can test new ways of coping and reduce anxiety or depression symptoms.

She also incorporates dialectical behavior therapy skills to teach emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and better interpersonal effectiveness. DBT-style tools are useful when emotions feel intense or when impulsive reactions get in the way of goals.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about their goals and try methods that match those needs. Plans are adjusted over time based on what the person finds helpful and what fits their life.

Online therapy offers flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video works well for deeper conversations and skill practice, phone can be easier when bandwidth is limited, and messaging supports quick check-ins or short coaching between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, caregiving, or busy schedules while still using CBT and DBT techniques in everyday life.