About Melissa
Melissa Fernald is a licensed clinical social worker with 25 years of experience in mental health and addiction work. She practices in Maine and provides straightforward, practical help for people facing stress, anxiety, depression, relationship struggles, addiction, and parenting concerns. Melissa aims to make therapy focused and useful instead of long and confusing.
Her style is calm and down-to-earth. She listens without judgment and brings honesty and a bit of humor when helpful.
How Melissa works
Sessions emphasize building on strengths and learning new skills to cope with current problems. Melissa uses approaches that help people notice what matters to them and change unhelpful patterns. She helps clients sort through complicated feelings tied to trauma, grief, or life transitions.
Work can include learning behavior tools, improving communication, managing intense emotions, and planning steps toward goals. Her background includes work in hospitals, community programs, and independent practice. This variety shaped how she blends practical strategies with a supportive therapeutic relationship.
She also brings experience addressing addictions, caregiver stress, codependency, and blended family issues. People who choose Melissa often want clear, actionable steps and a therapist who is steady and pragmatic. She helps with coping skills for daily life, managing mood and anxiety, and making sense of relationship and family stress.
The focus is on small real changes that add up over time.
Melissa lists 12 ways of working on the entry:
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Existential Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
What Melissa works with
The areas below are the ones Melissa selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating disorders
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | LCSW |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 25 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | Maine |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
How Melissa Uses Therapy Approaches Online
Melissa often blends Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in online work. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people clarify what matters to them and take small actions toward those values while learning to live with difficult thoughts and feelings. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns and practicing concrete skills to change them. Finding the right approach is part of the process and will be decided together. The therapist will ask about your goals, day-to-day challenges, and what has or hasn’t helped before, then tailor the mix of methods to fit your needs and preferences. Online sessions use video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make care flexible. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions can be a simpler option when bandwidth is low or you prefer not to be on camera. Live chat and text messaging work well for brief check-ins, quick coaching, or when a shorter touchpoint fits your schedule. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, caregiving, or busy days while keeping the focus on practical skills and steady support.Start online instead of waiting
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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