About Melissa
Melissa Smith is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) practicing in Missouri with 23 years of experience. She focuses on practical help for common struggles like stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, bipolar mood concerns, and life changes. Melissa aims to make it easier to talk about hard things and to find concrete next steps.
She builds a calm, nonjudgmental space where people can name what feels off and try new ways of coping.
How Melissa works
Sessions tend to be collaborative and down-to-earth, with straightforward talk and tools you can use between meetings. Melissa often blends problem-solving methods with attention to feelings and personal values. Her work covers a wide range of life concerns, including grief, trauma and abuse, addiction, intimacy-related issues, parenting stress, anger, career questions, and compassion fatigue.
She also addresses issues that come with aging, caregiver strain, codependency, isolation, and finding life purpose. Young adult issues and workplace challenges are part of her practice as well. Melissa uses several approachable techniques such as client-centered listening, cognitive behavioral work, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, and psychodynamic ideas.
That mix helps her meet different needs, from managing anxiety symptoms to exploring deeper patterns. She supports clients in setting realistic goals and tracking progress between sessions. People who reach out can expect steady, practical guidance and an emphasis on what changes feel doable in daily life.
Melissa encourages slow, sustainable steps toward better functioning and more rewarding relationships.
Melissa lists 7 ways of working on the entry:
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
- Self esteem
- Bipolar disorder
Also listed
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | LPC |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 23 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | Missouri |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Approaches that guide online sessions
Client-centered therapy centers the conversation on the person in front of the therapist. The approach emphasizes listening, empathy, and helping clients set their own pace and goals. It is useful when someone needs a nonjudgmental place to sort out feelings and choices.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors connect. It focuses on practical strategies and small experiments to reduce anxiety, improve mood, and tackle unhelpful habits. CBT is often used for stress, depression, and mood-related concerns.
Mindfulness therapy encourages gentle awareness of the present moment and simple practices to reduce reactivity. It can help with anxiety, emotion regulation, and building steadier attention to what matters most.
Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Melissa will discuss options and tailor methods based on a person’s goals, needs, and preferences. That collaborative process helps pick techniques that feel realistic and useful for daily life.
Online therapy makes it easier to fit sessions into a busy schedule. Video calls allow face-to-face connection when a visual check-in matters. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging offer more frequent, brief touchpoints for homework checks, coaching, or quick support between sessions. These formats increase flexibility and make it simpler to keep momentum toward goals.
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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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