Life is something, isn’t it? Moments of joy, accomplishment, and meaning can feel fleeting, and many of us find we spend much of our time wondering if we’re the only ones struggling to picture what contentment even looks like. Actually maintaining it in our daily lives can seem impossible. We look around at our families, our careers, our friendships, our relationships with our children, and we see areas where there is room for growth and change. The difference between noticing what we want to improve and having the strength, support, and courage to actually do it can feel vast. And lonely. Sometimes just knowing you have someone to talk to who will listen, with warmth and kindness and without judgment, can make all the difference. Let's work together to build your capacity for growth. Let's build skills, confidence, and self-compassion. The reality of life is that moments of deep joy may be fleeting, but so are times of pain and the quiet "in-between" is where most of the meaning lies. We can work together to understand that meaning in your life and to learn to make the most of it.

What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?

You can expect me to be very interested in learning about what you need and how I can best support you. I'll want to know more about what has you seeking therapy, if you have any prior therapy experiences you'd like to share with me, and if you have thoughts on how you envision our session time being spent. I'll be interested in learning more about your goals. I'll also want to make sure you understand that I appreciate your openness with me and that I'll tailor your therapy experience to meet your own individual needs and preferences. By the way, it's okay to be not exactly sure what you need in the first place! We can figure that out together, too. It's so important to me that my clients feel they are being heard. So many of us feel isolated, with very few opportunities to experience warmth of connection and especially to feel welcome to share your story with someone who really wants to hear it. I want our therapy sessions to be a place where you can know that you are being met with genuine interest in you and your story, compassion for your struggles and current coping mechanisms, and enthusiastic encouragement of the best version of yourself that you are working to get to know.

Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.

I think my biggest strength as a provider is that I love the work I do and I believe that it shows in the way that I listen to each of my clients. I get genuinely excited to meet new clients and to watch the incredible growth of my existing ones. It is never lost on me what an honor it is to be the person with whom you are choosing to share your story. I have a natural curiosity about people and an ability to see each of my clients as whole people. That being said, I also don't think therapy has to be so serious all of the time! I want you to be yourself, swear words and all, and to know that learning to laugh at life together has great therapeutic value too. I'm a creative leaning therapist and I enjoy discussing research, poems, quotes, song lyrics, and anything else that interests you and feels relevant. Send me that Tiktok that "says it all" and lets talk about it! I think I offer an additional strength of being a trauma-informed and ethics-focused therapist who understands and does not take for granted the responsibility I have to be protective of my clients and the people in their lives with whom they share relationships. I observe how social media, popular psychology, and cultural norms can sometimes combine to create confusing narratives (or sometimes myths) about human interaction and connection. I strive to be thoughtful about providing communication tools that save relationships instead of pathologizing conflict and I recognize that clinical diagnoses can sometimes do more harm than good and operate accordingly. I believe most behaviors that cause us problems are actually coping mechanisms, often forged in trauma, and when met with consistent effort to understand ourselves and each other, our ability to heal while deepening our connections can only grow.

About Melissa Stadler

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