- Stress and mood disorders
- Parenting and blended family
- Attachment and forgiveness
About Melissa
Melissa Simonson is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Maryland and a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Virginia with five years of clinical counseling experience. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, parenting struggles, low self-esteem, depression, and feelings of guilt or shame. Her background in education informs a practical, organized approach to sessions.
Before becoming a counselor, Melissa spent 15 years as a teacher and school administrator. That experience shaped how she listens and asks questions. Sessions are focused on clear goals, problem-solving, and small steps clients can try between meetings.
Her work often centers on everyday pressures and the effects they have on mood, relationships, and self-view. She helps people talk through parenting stress, blended family concerns, control issues, and the fallout from separation or divorce. Melissa also addresses attachment concerns and post-traumatic stress when they affect daily life.
In conversations she uses practical strategies and evidence-based therapeutic techniques adapted to each person. She pays attention to how past events and family expectations influence guilt and shame. Clients can expect straightforward feedback, options for coping, and a plan that connects to their day-to-day routines.
Sessions are conducted in English. Melissa notes that cost varies with location and that sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time. To begin, someone completes a short matching questionnaire and schedules a first session through the online options button.
How therapeutic approaches guide online work
Melissa uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques in practical ways. One common approach focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing them with realistic, small experiments to reduce worry and anxiety. This method helps when guilt or shame feeds repetitive negative thinking.Another approach explores the effects of past experiences and attachment patterns on current relationships and self-image. Conversations focus on recognizing repetitive patterns, naming how they show up, and trying different ways of relating or reacting in everyday situations.
Choosing the right approach is part of the work. The therapist and client will discuss goals, needs, and preferences and decide together which techniques to try first. That helps keep sessions relevant and focused on practical change.
Confirm the available session formats before booking, as the biography does not list specific online options. Online sessions can make it easier to fit counseling into a busy life - for example, shorter check-ins during a workday break or avoiding travel time. They also allow continuing care across routine changes while keeping the focus on real-world steps and coping strategies.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Experience
5+ years
Listed in
Maryland, Virginia
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she support?
Melissa works with stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, parenting issues, self-esteem concerns, depression, and guilt and shame.
How does she approach feelings of guilt or shame?
She considers how past events and family expectations shape those feelings and uses practical, evidence-based techniques to help people talk through them.
What is her clinical background?
She has five years of clinical counseling experience and previously spent 15 years as a teacher and school administrator.
What credentials and location are listed?
She holds LCPC in Maryland and LPC in Virginia and practices from Maryland.
Does she work in languages other than English?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people outside the United States work with her?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How are sessions structured and paid for?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin with her?
Use 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.