Melanie J. Chitwood - Accepting New Clients! (she/her)

LPCC
Accepting Clients

Hi. I'm Melanie. I look forward to speaking with you and hopefully being a part of your process to get to where you would like to be!

Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in California

Services
  • Individual
  • Couples

About My Clients

I have clients from many different walks of life and from varying ethnic, geographical, educational, occupational, and socio-economic backgrounds. My clients are often facing challenges in daily life, in their relationships, in feeling understood/gotten, and in trying to have congruence in their lives. I work best with clients who are verbal processors, who are committed to the investment of weekly therapy sessions, and who are seeking greater insights, different perspectives, and to feel seen.

My Background and Approach

I have been involved in the field of Mental Health for over 20 years and across 4 different countries. I have had experience counseling clients from over 19 different countries and across many different settings. My experience in the States spans both the East and West Coasts, so I also have an understanding of regional differences. All of this provides me a unique perspective. My approach to therapy is one of collaboration and dialogue. Sometimes clients speak of their experiences of having had therapists who sat and nodded without saying much throughout the sessions. At times, a client definitely needs the space to be able to state all the things they feel are unheard in other areas of their lives, and I provide this gift of space. Yet, I also am interactive in the client's experience across therapy - asking questions to illuminate things to enable a person to reflect, to gain insight, to have things come into clearer perspective, and to experience shifts in their lives.

My Personal Beliefs and Interests

I am passionate about providing therapy from a non-pathologizing lens in which I see challenges, barriers, difference, and struggles as part of the human experience. This lens also extends to the importance to me of ensuring you have the most privacy, choice, and self-agency possible throughout your experience of therapy. As such, this is why I choose not to be paneled with any insurance companies due to their access to the content of our sessions, as well as their control over the number of sessions and even the modalities used by the therapist in your sessions. I am committed to making therapy (with privacy protections) accessible, so I do accept Out-of-Network Insurance coverage which provides you more privacy and provides you and I more agency in the therapy you receive. If you think I am a good fit for you based on what you've read here or you'd like to speak with me to get a better feel of how I work, please do reach out. I am happy to discuss the options and process with you.

Techniques I Use

Specialties
Culturally Sensitive Therapy Existential Therapy Integrative Therapy
Other Techniques
  • Attachment Theory
  • Couples Counseling
  • Culturally Sensitive Therapy
  • Existential Therapy
  • Expressive Art Therapy
  • Humanistic Therapy
  • Psychodynamic Therapy
  • Relational Therapy
  • Person-Centered (Rogerian)
  • Integrative Therapy
  • Trauma Therapy
  • Sand Tray Therapy

Issues I Treat

Specialties
Autism Spectrum Disorder Grief or Loss Immigration/Acculturation
Other Issues
  • ADHD Therapists
  • Aging Concerns
  • Anxiety
  • Attachment
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Burnout
  • Cancer
  • Codependency
  • Depression
  • Divorce
  • Family Conflict
  • Grief or Loss
  • Historical/ Intergenerational Trauma
  • Immigration/Acculturation
  • Infertility
  • Learning Disorders
  • Marriage Counseling
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Self-Esteem
  • Sexual Abuse or Assault
  • Systemic Oppression Therapy
Insurance Plans Accepted
  • Out of Network
I offer online counseling in the following states:
I have experience with the following
  • Agnosticism
  • Atheism
  • Baha'i
  • Buddhism
  • Christianity
  • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
  • Hinduism
  • Islam
  • Jehovah's Witnesses
  • Sikhism
  • Wicca/Paganism
  • Interfaith
  • Multifaith

At A Glance

  • Experience: 18 years of practice

Reach out to Melanie J. Chitwood -