Ms. Melissa Huemmer has more than twenty-five years of clinical experience providing therapy to people of all ages from children to seniors, and is licensed in NC. She earned a master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from UNC-Chapel Hill with additional focus on children and families, and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology. Melissa has provided services in a variety of settings over her career. She works with clients from a strengths-based perspective to promote self-empowerment and aspiration to reach identified goals.
Intervention Style: Melissa’s approach to therapy is to operate from a strength perspective, explore roadblocks and provide education about skills that will facilitate clients achieving their goals. She believes in listening to her clients to discover how they connect with the world and what they value and find motivating. Together, a range of techniques are utilized to achieve growth and the goals established. These techniques may be mindfulness and relaxation, cognitive behavioral therapy, social skills training, storytelling, trauma work, role play, communication skills, or any combination that is indicated based on the client’s needs. Melissa believes in being clear with her clients and providing feedback throughout the process. She can help clients identify their goals even if all they know at the beginning is, “I am tired of feeling this way.” Melissa believes that an understanding of differences, connection to nature, and a balance of mind and body allow us all to be our best selves, and this balance is different for everyone. Therapy is about a client and therapist establishing a relationship of trust and safety so that change and growth can occur.
Therapy Experience: Melissa has experience working with clients of all ages presenting with challenges whether they be related to behavior or mood/feelings. Areas she works with, to name a few, include: all forms of anxiety, depression, trauma, social isolation, social skills, relationship issues, and life transitions. She has worked with children, teenagers, young adults, parents, families and seniors to address current behavior and/or mood challenges, and to navigate transitions both planned and unexpected. Melissa provides individual therapy, family therapy, and group therapy. Her work has been across the lifespan. For example, her breadth includes helping children learn emotion regulation, teenagers improve social skills, young adults succeed at first jobs, adults manage depression and anxiety, couples improve their marriages, seniors to age with grace, and families in renegotiating changing family roles. Melissa welcomes clients of all ages with all presenting problems.