Licensed to practice in 3 states and accepts 40 insurances. Specializes in Anxiety, Coping Skills, Depression and 10 more.
Melisha Harris
About me
Hello, I am Melisha Harris, a licensed clinical social worker dedicated to helping individuals, families, ministry leaders, and professionals navigate life's challenges with confidence and hope. As a therapist, I create a safe, confidential, and compassionate space where you can explore your story, heal, and grow. Whether you’re facing anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, life transitions, caregiver stress, ministry burnout, leadership challenges, or simply seeking greater clarity and peace, I’m here to support you. Counseling can help you rediscover your strengths and build the life you deeply deserve. If you’re ready to take that next step, I will walk with you to create a safe and welcoming environment that allows clients to explore, heal and improve their quality of life.
Get to know me
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
In our first session, you can expect a calm, welcoming space where we will talk about life experiences, what brought you to therapy and what you hope to gain from it. I will ask a few gentle questions to get to know you, but you set the pace. This is a space for you to feel seen, heard, and supported without pressure as you begin the process of restoration.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
One of my greatest strengths is creating a space where clients feel safe to be fully themselves without fear and judgement. I provide a confidential, supportive environment where individuals can process difficult emotions, life experiences, and personal challenges openly. With a background in social work, ministry, and trauma-informed care, I bring a unique blend of clinical skills, spiritual insight, and lived compassion to every session. I have a special passion for those who often spend their lives caring for others while neglecting their own burdens and emotional needs. My goal is to help you gain clarity, strength, resilience, and assist you into greater emotional and spiritual wellness. I see the whole person, not just the problem and will collaborate with you to promote healing, growth, and a renewed purpose.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
I work best with individuals and families navigating grief, trauma, anxiety, depression, life transitions, and relationship challenges. Many of my clients are those who are ready to begin their healing journey but need a safe space to do so inclusive of caregivers, helping professionals, and ministry leaders. If you have been silently carrying pain, stress, or emotional exhaustion, I provide a safe, compassionate, and confidential space where you can heal without judgement. Together, we will develop a personalized, goal-directed plan to help you achieve meaningful growth, healing, and emotional well-being.
Specialties
Top specialties
Anxiety
Coping Skills
Depression
Other specialties
Anger Management
Couples Counseling
Crisis Intervention
Family Conflict
Family Therapy
Grief
Mood Disorders
Self Esteem
Trauma and PTSD
Women's Issues
Identifies as
Black / African American
Woman
Serves ages
Adults (18 to 64)
Elders (65 and above)
Licensed in
Delaware
District of Columbia
Maryland
Accepts
Aetna
Aetna - ASR Health Benefits
Aetna - Allied Benefits
Aetna - Lucent Health
Aetna - Luminare
Aetna - Moda
Aetna - WebTPA
Aetna – HealthEZ
All Savers
Amerihealth Administrators
Anthem
Highmark
Arlo
AvMed
Blue Cross Blue Shield
CareFirst
Independence Administrators
Independence Blue Cross
Cash - $150 per session
Centivo
Cigna
Cigna - HealthEZ
EAP:Cigna
EAP:Evernorth
EAP:UnitedHealthcare/Optum
Evernorth
GTEB
Golden Rule
Harvard Pilgrim/UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare/Optum
Optum
OptumHealth Complex Medical Conditions
Oscar
Oxford
Surest (formerly Bind)
Tufts Health/Cigna
United Medical Resources
UnitedHealthcare Life Insurance
UnitedHealthcare Shared Services
UnitedHealthcare StudentResources
Location
Virtual
My treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ( CBT) to help clients identify and challenge negative thought patterns that influence emotions, behaviors, and relationships. Together we will explore how thoughts impact daily experiences and develop healthier ways of coping with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, life transitions and trauma. CBT is a collaborative, goal-oriented approach that helps clients gain greater self-awareness, improve emotional regulation, and create lasting change. This approach is particularly effective in addressing maladaptive behaviors, negative thinking patterns, leadership stress, caregiver fatigue, ministry-related burnout, and difficulties with emotional regulation.
Structural Family Therapy
I use Structural Family Therapy to help individuals and families improve communication, strengthen relationships, and create healthier boundaries. By identifying and adjusting patterns within the family system, we work together to address conflict, clarify roles, and improve overall family functioning. This approach is particularly beneficial for families navigating life transitions, trauma, behavioral concerns, along with the unique demands and challenges often experienced within ministry and leadership families.
Strength-Based
I use a strength-based approach to help clients recognize and build on their own unique gifts and resilience. Rather than focusing solely on problems, we work together to foster lasting inner growth by building upon the strengths and abilities that you already possess while developing new tools to navigate life's challenges. My goal is to empower clients to increase confidence, embrace their strengths, and create meaningful change in their lives and communities.
Christian Counseling
I offer Christian Counseling for clients who wish to incorporate their faith into the therapeutic process. Drawing from both clinical expertise and ministry experience, I provide a safe, confidential, and nonjudgmental space to explore emotional, relational, and spiritual concerns. Whether you are facing grief, anxiety, trauma, burnout, or life transitions, I help you integrate biblical beliefs, faith, and evidence-based practices to support healing, growth, alignment, and restoration. This approach supports the integration of prayer, scripture, and spiritual guidance into the session.
Grief Therapy
I use Grief Therapy to help individuals process loss and make sense of life's difficult transitions. Whether grief stems from death of a loved one, separation, caregiving responsibilities, or other significant changes, I provide a safe, compassionate, and confidential space to explore emotions and develop healthy coping strategies. My approach is tailored to each clients individual experience helping them to identify new norms, find healing, resilience and hope at your own pace.
43 ratings with written reviews
July 22, 2026
Melisha Harris is amazing. I never thought coming into these sessions that I would have such a transformation of my own self. She's warm, inviting and spirit led. She's deeply knowledgeable of God's word and has not missed the mark on her guidance through my healing. Her soft-spoken nature and kindness have helped me immensely in being able to be open to what pained me. I definitely chose the right therapist.
Verified client, age 55-64
July 16, 2026
I find Melisha Harris to be very open minded, intelligent, welcoming and authentic. I appreciate her for also being so empowering, and setting realistic goals and practical solutions for me to follow in my everyday life.
Verified client, age 45-54
July 10, 2026
Melisha really listens to me before offering anything. Melisha doesn’t push her own agenda; she suggests alternatives so I can choose what works for me. She helps me think through problems to get to solutions instead of solving them for me. The homework that she gives me; pushes me into deeper self-reflection. I have learned so much about myself through my sessions with Melisha and look forward to what is yet to come.