Melanie Amidei (she/her)

LSW
Accepting Clients

Hi! My name is Melanie, I am a licensed social worker and certified sex crisis counselor.

Social Worker in Illinois
Supervised by Karla Scherf LCSW

Services
  • Individual
  • Couples

About My Clients

I am open to clients of all ages, experiences, identities, and cultures. I am passionate about working with chronic pain and illness, trauma, depression, anxiety, and dissociative disorders.

My Background and Approach

Using a holistic and comprehensive approach, I aim to help my clients balance the mental, emotional, and physical aspects of healing. My personal experience with chronic illness and pain, as well as my professional background in crisis work, have both taught me how important it is for the mind and body to feel safe before growth can happen. I believe in using traditional methods like talk therapy alongside approaches meant to regulate the nervous system from within the body, like somatic therapy, parts work, and mindfulness.

My Personal Beliefs and Interests

I align with leftist ideology. I strongly believe in the liberation of all oppressed beings, in equity and reparations. We are living on stolen land and should pay respects to the sacrifice, the suffering, and the blood-shed that has led to our current circumstances. At the core of my morality is the idea that we need each other. Humans cannot survive without one another and I believe it is our duty to help our fellow man. Even so, I didn't become a therapist for the sole purpose of helping people. That's an important part, of course, but I also wanted to expand my own disposition through interacting with others. The therapeutic connection is very special, and I am grateful for the opportunity to do this work.

Techniques I Use

Other Techniques
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Attachment Theory
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
  • Couples Counseling
  • Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
  • Gottman Method Couples Therapy
  • Motivational Interviewing
  • Psychoanalytic
  • Psychodynamic Therapy
  • Discernment Counseling

Issues I Treat

Specialties
Anxiety Chronic Pain or Illness Dissociative Disorders
Other Issues
  • Addiction
  • Anger Issues
  • Attachment
  • Chronic Pain or Illness
  • Divorce
  • Domestic Violence or Intimate Partner Violence
  • Marriage Counseling
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Relationship Issues
  • Self-Esteem
  • Self-Harm
  • Sexual Problems
  • Spirituality
  • Teen Issues
  • Women's Issues
Insurance Plans Accepted
  • Aetna
  • Blue Choice
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS)
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO
  • Aetna PPO
I offer online counseling in the following states:
I have experience with the following
  • Atheism
  • Baha'i
  • Buddhism
  • Christianity
  • Islam
  • Judaism
  • Taoism

At A Glance

  • Experience: 2 years of practice
  • Languages: English

Reach out to Melanie