Mel Whalen PhD, LP

Structural dissociation is the center of my clinical and research work, especially in Deaf adults whose early lives lacked full access to language. I work with OSDD, DID, depersonalization, and the parts-based reality of complex trauma using an IFS-informed, Somatic Experiencing-based approach: stabilization first, pacing set by your nervous system, no forced memory work. If you've been told you're "too complex," you're not. This is what I do.

As a nonbinary psychologist, I offer gender-affirming therapy that treats your identity as a given, not a problem to solve. I work with trans, nonbinary, and questioning adults on exploration, transition decisions, family and workplace dynamics, and the trauma that comes from living in unsupportive systems. I write letters for gender-affirming care under an informed-consent model, and Deaf and hard-of-hearing clients get all of this directly in ASL, with no interpreter in the room.

I treat complex and developmental trauma, not only single-incident PTSD: the kind that comes from years of not being safe, seen, or understood, often inside families, schools, institutions, or medical systems. I use EMDR and Somatic Experiencing alongside parts work, and I pay close attention to how trauma lives in the body and in language access. Sessions in ASL or English, with no interpreter in the room, by video across Michigan or in person in Ypsilanti.

I'm EMDR trained and use it for single-incident and complex trauma, adapted for Deaf and hard-of-hearing clients: bilateral stimulation that doesn't depend on hearing, and processing conducted directly in ASL or English rather than through an interpreter. I pair EMDR with nervous-system stabilization and parts work so reprocessing stays within your window of tolerance. Offered by secure video across Michigan and in person in Ypsilanti.

I'm training as a Somatic Experiencing practitioner and I work from the body first: tracking activation, settling the nervous system, and letting completion happen at a pace you can tolerate rather than pushing through. For Deaf and hard-of-hearing clients this matters even more, because so much trauma lives below language. Body-based work in ASL or English, with no interpreter in the room, by video across Michigan or in person in Ypsilanti.

Trauma is the center of my practice, and my particular expertise is complex and developmental trauma in Deaf, hard-of-hearing, LGBTQ+, and disabled adults: people whose trauma is braided together with growing up in systems that didn't fit them. I integrate Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, and IFS-informed parts work, and I never ask you to retell what happened as the price of getting better. Therapy in ASL or English, no interpreter in the room.