About Melissa
Melissa Madriaga is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) based in Wisconsin who helps people facing stress and anxiety. She writes plainly and listens closely to understand what is most pressing for each person. Melissa aims to make therapy practical and relevant to everyday life.
She brings eight years of counseling experience and a background working with incarcerated and unhoused populations. Melissa also served seven years in the United States Army Reserves.
Background and approach
Her training includes a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Walden University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Marian University. Melissa uses approaches like client-centered work, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and narrative techniques. Sessions focus on skills people can use between meetings - for example changing unhelpful thoughts, building steady routines, or practicing present-moment awareness.
She also helps people talk through eating and body image concerns in straightforward ways. Her areas of focus include depression, addictions, trauma and abuse, relationship and family problems, parenting, anger, coping with life changes, and a range of related concerns such as abandonment, forgiveness, and financial stress. Melissa emphasizes practical steps and respects each person’s pace when working through sensitive issues.
Outside of practice she is a single mother and enjoys hiking, biking, and exploring Wisconsin with her daughters. She aims to offer hope and to partner with people who want clear, usable strategies for coping and change.
How therapy approaches translate online
Client-centered work focuses on listening and following the person’s lead to understand what matters most. Online this means sessions start with what feels most urgent and build from there into practical goals that fit daily life.Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps identify unhelpful thoughts and gently test them with new behaviors. In remote sessions clients learn simple exercises to try between meetings, like tracking thoughts, trying small behavior changes, and reviewing what worked in the next visit.
Finding the right approach is part of the work and it will be collaborative. The therapist will talk with each person about their needs, goals, and preferences and suggest which techniques to try first. Adjustments are made over time so the plan stays useful and realistic.
Online options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation, phone calls can be easier when bandwidth is limited, live chat works for shorter check-ins, and messaging supports ongoing reflection between meetings. These choices make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and to keep practicing tools between sessions.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Eating disorders
- Self esteem
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- Anger management
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Eating and food-related issues
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Money and financial issues
- Parenting issues
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Relationship issues
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 8 years
- Licensed
- Wisconsin
- Languages
- English
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