Meet Dr. Melanie!

Positionality: I identify as a White cis-het woman from a lower social class background.
 

My Background & Approach:

My primary emphasis in psychotherapy is on cultural responsiveness and affirmation. I aim to help clients develop healthier relationships with themselves and others through a process of self-discovery and of better recognizing the impact of the world around us. I enjoy working collaboratively with individuals of all backgrounds, including racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds, to help them toward their personal goals for change. Through developing a caring, nonjudgmental, and safe space, I work to create an environment in which clients can examine and better understand themselves and the challenges they face. I have experience working with a wide variety of concerns; I have particular expertise in working with addiction/substance abuse; trauma; sexual orientation and gender identity (LGBTQIA+); and issues related to experiencing racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression.

​

I have deep personal and professional commitments to antiracism and social justice. As an educator and a researcher, my primary areas of focus are on understanding and ameliorating racism; culturally responsive psychotherapy and psychotherapy training; and racial and economic inequities in higher education. I am also actively involved in political advocacy and action for community change.

​

Theoretical & Clinical Orientation:

My psychotherapy practice is based on the best psychotherapy science, from which we know the therapy relationship and the fit between client and therapist are strongly related to seeing benefits from therapy. A number of psychotherapy theories have had an influence on my development, but my approach is primarily informed by psychodynamic, interpersonal process, humanistic-existential, and feminist-multicultural approaches. From interpersonal and attachment lenses, integrated within a feminist-multicultural framework, I work with clients to help them identify how their past has shaped them, and how to create a future that works better for them.

 

I also provide culturally responsive and collaborative psychological assessment such as for learning disorders, ADHD, symptom or personality concerns, or career assessment. My goal is to help you identify and understand the things that you may be struggling with, and identify ways to work with them moving forward.

​

Professional Credentials

• Licensed Psychologist, Georgia (#PSY004400)

• Board Certified Counseling Psychologist (ABPP) by the American Board of Professional Psychology

• PSYPACT E. Passport (APIT #11880)​

​​

Education

• Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York

• B.A. in Psychology, Cedar Crest College

​

​Professional Service & Memberships

I am actively involved in the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Georgia Psychological Association, with a primary emphasis on education and training, social justice, and advocacy. I am currently a member of the APA Board of Educational Affairs, and served as Board Chair in 2020. I also serve on APA’s Opioid Advisory Group and have served in a number of other leadership roles in APA and APA Division 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology). I serve on the Academic Committee and Legal and Legislative Committee of the Georgia Psychological Association. Additionally, I serve on the editorial boards of the journals Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, Training and Education in Professional Psychology, The Counseling Psychologist, and Psychotherapy.

 

My primary role when I am not doing clinical work is as a professor and researcher at August University.

​