Melissa Vallia, LPC

Melissa Vallia is a Licensed Professional Counselor who helps people manage stress, anxiety, addictions, parenting challenges, depression, and life transitions. She speaks plainly and focuses on practical steps people can use right away. Many clients come for help with communication problems, workplace strain, social anxiety, divorce and separation, guilt, shame, or forgiveness. Melissa draws on cognitive behavioral approaches alongside client-centered and solution-focused ideas. Sessions are conversational and goal-oriented. She works with clients to identify patterns of thinking and behavior, try small experiments, and build skills that reduce distress and strengthen coping. Her counseling path grew from personal experience and years in helping roles. Melissa served as a chaplain assistant in the U.S. Air Force, worked with Goodwill Industries, and led programs in her church. Those roles shaped how she listens and responds when someone is facing loss or big life changes. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master of Science in Counseling from Louisiana State University-Shreveport. Melissa holds LPC licensure in Louisiana and Arkansas. She has four years of professional counseling experience in both office and telehealth settings. Melissa aims to meet people where they are and move toward the goals they name. She tailors sessions to each person and focuses on steps that feel doable. Her style is respectful, warm, and practical, and she invites clients to try new ways of thinking and acting as part of the process.

Using CBT and Client-Centered Care Online

Melissa integrates cognitive behavioral ideas and client-centered listening into online sessions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing new behaviors to reduce anxiety, depression, and stress. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes understanding the client's experience and tailoring conversations to what matters most to them. Solution-Focused Therapy looks for small, practical steps that move a person toward their goals and is useful when clients want fast, focused change.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose methods that match their goals, needs, and preferences. Together they will try techniques, review what helps, and shift tactics when needed so the plan stays useful and realistic.

Online formats offer flexibility for busy lives. Video calls allow face-to-face interaction for skill practice and deeper conversation. Phone sessions are helpful when bandwidth is limited or when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text-based messaging provide shorter check-ins, quick coping tools, and ongoing support between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, parenting, or other daily demands.