- Years in practice
- 27
- Credentials
- LMHC
- Licensed in
- Florida
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Trauma and abuse
- Focus
- Self esteem
About Melissa
Melissa Colton is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) with 27 years of experience. She offers a calm, direct approach to common struggles parents face. Her style focuses on clear goals, practical skills, and steady support during stressful times.
Many people seek her help for anxiety, depression, mood disorders, and trauma. She also works with concerns around parenting, relationship strain, grief, addiction, and burnout. Melissa pays attention to how daily life, work, and caregiving demands affect emotional energy and decision making.
Background and approach
Her practice blends client-centered listening with tools from cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy. Sessions often include problem-solving, skills practice, and mindfulness exercises to reduce reactivity and build coping routines. Melissa aims to make strategies simple and usable between sessions.
She values a strong working relationship and helps people find the next right step when they feel stuck. The focus is collaborative: set a few clear goals, try practical steps, and adjust as needed. Parents commonly come for help managing stress, setting boundaries, and restoring patience.
Melissa provides care from Florida and conducts sessions in English. She offers telephone and video appointments along with live chat and text-based messaging for ongoing coaching-style check-ins. Getting started involves a short matching questionnaire and scheduling a first session based on availability.
What Melissa works with
Everything Melissa lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Melissa helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Self esteem
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
- Addictions
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Guilt and shame
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
Approaches Melissa lists
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Existential Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Approach and online care that fits your life
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and reflecting what matters most to each person. It helps clients feel heard and supported while they decide what changes to make and when to try them.Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts influence feelings and behavior. It uses short exercises and real-life practice to reduce anxiety, shift negative thinking, and improve day-to-day functioning.
Dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT, teaches skills for regulating intense emotions and improving relationships. It emphasizes practical tools like distress tolerance and emotional regulation that can be used during stressful parenting moments.
Choosing the right approach is something the therapist and client decide together. Melissa will help identify goals, try approaches that match those goals, and adjust plans based on what helps. The process is collaborative and paced to the person's needs.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video is useful for fuller conversation and skill demonstrations. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or for a shorter check-in. Live chat or text messaging can support brief coaching, homework follow-ups, or when a written check-in feels easiest. These options make it simpler to fit therapy around work, childcare, and busy schedules.
Questions people ask about Melissa
What issues does Melissa commonly address?
She helps with stress, anxiety, depression, mood disorders, trauma and abuse, parenting challenges, relationship and intimacy issues, grief, addictions, and related concerns listed in her profile.
What is her general therapeutic style?
Melissa combines client-centered listening with practical methods like cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy. Sessions emphasize problem-solving, skills practice, and mindful awareness.
How much experience does she have?
She has 27 years of clinical experience working in mental health settings and offering telehealth services.
Where is she licensed and located?
Melissa holds an LMHC license in Florida and provides services from that state.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available?
Appointments can take place via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to suit different needs and schedules.
How are fees and payment handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What are the first steps to begin working together?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a session according to therapist availability.
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Arielle Simpson
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