About Melissa
Melissa Fernald is a licensed clinical social worker with 25 years of experience in mental health and addiction. She practices in Maine and focuses on helping people facing stress, anxiety, trauma, depression, and addiction. Melissa aims to make therapy practical and approachable so clients can see progress in everyday life.
Her style is calm and down-to-earth. She uses a strength-based, solution-focused approach that builds on what already works for each person.
Background and approach
Sessions are straightforward and aim to leave people feeling a bit lighter and more capable after each meeting. Melissa draws on a mix of methods to match the needs of each client. She uses tools from cognitive behavioral therapy to address unhelpful thinking and behavior.
She also integrates acceptance and commitment therapy ideas to help clarify values and take meaningful action. Attachment-based and client-centered techniques help Melissa focus on the relationship and the person in front of her. Dialectical behavior therapy skills are available when people need tools for emotion regulation and distress tolerance.
She adapts these approaches to practical goals like managing anxiety, improving communication, or reducing substance use. Many people come for help with family stress, parenting strain, relationship and intimacy questions, career shifts, grief, or life transitions. Melissa works to create a space that is honest, warm, and grounded so clients can make steady, useful changes.
Therapeutic approaches and online care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters to them and take small, meaningful steps toward those values while accepting uncomfortable thoughts or feelings. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying patterns of thinking and behavior that keep problems going and practicing new ways of responding to reduce symptoms like anxiety and depression. Attachment-Based Therapy emphasizes how early relationships shape expectations and current patterns, which can be helpful for improving communication and closeness in relationships.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Melissa will work with each person to identify goals, offer tools from different methods, and adjust the plan over time so therapy fits the client’s needs and preferences.
Online work is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to make care more flexible. Video sessions let people use visual cues for deeper conversations. Phone calls can be easier when bandwidth is limited or when you want to avoid being on camera. Live chat or text messaging can be useful for brief check-ins, reminders, or practicing skills between longer sessions. These options help fit therapy into busy schedules and make consistent support more accessible.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- 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
Therapeutic approaches
- 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
- Experience
- 25 years
- Licensed
- Maine, New Hampshire
- Languages
- English
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