- CBT focus
- Trauma informed
- Practical coping
About Melissa
Melissa Sears is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) practicing in Louisiana with eight years of experience. She works with people who face anxiety, low self-esteem, trauma, relationship strain, parenting challenges, stress, and major life changes. Melissa also lists caregiver stress, communication problems, domestic violence, guilt and shame, impulsivity, isolation, mood disorders, and young adult issues among her focuses.
She has worked in clinical, community-based, educational, and telehealth settings. That variety means she has seen concerns in different places and routines. Sessions are conversational and goal-oriented. Melissa uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as a main method and combines trauma-informed techniques and practical coping strategies.
In a typical session she talks through how thoughts, feelings, and actions influence each other. She helps people notice patterns and try small changes to test what works. For trauma-related concerns she uses trauma-informed approaches that pay attention to safety and pacing.
Melissa aims to help clients build clearer communication skills and more manageable responses to stress and anger. She supports people working through guilt and shame by helping them separate actions from who they are and by developing self-directed coping skills. Her style is collaborative and focused on practical steps.
People can expect straightforward conversation about challenges and options. Melissa encourages setting achievable goals and checking progress along the way. To begin, clients follow the site’s matching and scheduling process to arrange an initial session.
How evidence-based techniques translate to online sessions
Melissa commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which helps people see how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact and then try concrete experiments to shift those patterns. CBT is often used for anxiety, mood concerns, and self-critical thoughts such as shame.She also applies trauma-informed techniques that focus on pacing, recognizing triggers, and building gradual coping skills for people with past harms. Those methods aim to help a person feel more in control of reactions and tolerate difficult memories with step-by-step skills.
Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences, and what feels manageable, and then adapt techniques in collaboration with the client. That means trying options, checking what helps, and adjusting the plan as needed.
Session formats are not specified in the biography, so confirm current session options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and remove commuting time. They also make it simpler to continue work when life circumstances change, while still focusing on observable skills and concrete practice rather than abstract advice.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Experience
8+ years
Listed in
Louisiana
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she address?
She works with stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, anger, self-esteem issues, and depression, along with related areas such as caregiver stress, communication problems, and guilt and shame.
How would she approach guilt and shame in sessions?
She uses conversation to separate actions from identity and to build coping skills, often drawing on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and trauma-informed practices to change unhelpful thought patterns.
What experience does she bring?
She has eight years of experience working across clinical, community-based, educational, and telehealth settings.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) licensed in Louisiana and practices there.
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can international clients schedule with her?
She is not currently accepting international clients.
How are session costs handled?
Cost varies with location; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I get started with a session?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, use the crisis numbers.