melissa sanders (she/they)

My Approach to Helping

I believe that the therapeutic relationship is an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the Self and make choices that are more aligned with personal goals. I use a Person Centered approach using Gestalt, Somatic awareness, Internal Family Systems and Narrative Therapy, DBT, CBT and creative expressive tools. Creating a deeper connection to body responses, and discovering different perspectives to develop more self awareness, I hope to work as a facilitator for your growth. I believe that you are always the expert in your own life, and I welcome feedback and collaboration about tools that you find most useful for your progress. At our initial sessions, we will explore what brought you to therapy and some potential types of therapies that may be beneficial for your treatment. I often use creative expressive activities during our sessions, with additional focus on somatic body awareness to bring more awareness to physical responses to thoughts and emotions.

My Personal Beliefs and Interests

As I child, I experienced traumatic events that I addressed through my own healing journey. I found that a combination of therapeutic interventions, including expressive therapies helped me identify the behaviors that were no longer serving me and strengthen my ability to access tools I was unaware of before. I believe that we all have the answers we seek already within us and the therapeutic relationship is a chance to have a supportive person to help guide you to understanding yourself on a deeper level of awareness. As humans, we develop behavior based on our experiences and what has provided us with our needs, even if this behavior is unhelpful or damaging to ourselves or our lives. I view therapy as a place where we can learn new ways to move closer to congruence with the people we want to be and the lives we want to lead.