Welcome to our space! In our time together we will address your concerns, as well as explore and highlight your personal strengths and attributes. I feel this is something we all neglect and these can be very empowering and key to working through our daily stressors. My style as a therapist is eclectic and energetic. Therapy can be a potent experience, but I am here to help accommodate the tears, toil, frustration, humor and other emotions that you cannot or may not wish to share with others. The world, our jobs, finances, and other obstacles are some of the many things that can zap our valuable mental and physical energy in a day. Burnout is more real now than ever before. Coming here is a way to recharge yourself so that you can be more present in the most important areas of your life and enjoy it in the process. We work together to develop skills and outlets in which to manage these stressors. You can become the most positive, healthy version of yourself. I welcome the pleasure of working with people from many different cultures and backgrounds, and I am an avid supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have been working 100 percent virtually. This direction in therapy has allowed me to interact with more people that are not within my geographical location. When a person is in an environment where they feel most comfortable, they are better able to express themselves. My source of empowerment comes from my husband and our enjoyment in caring for our animals. We have a good start on a boring zoo.. (dogs, cats, chickens, fish). They are my reason for working from home. For me, being outdoors and caring for animals is very therapeutic as well as rewarding.

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

In our first session together we will go through your intake, assessments and explore what brought you here. Regardless of whether it is your first time or have been here before, it is important to discuss any questions or concerns you have. The more information you provide, the better able we are to put a plan together for our time. I often ask those who have had therapy before about their experience and what people felt were and were not impactful for them during this time so that I am aware. At the end of our first session and throughout consecutive sessions I will check in to make sure the people I work with still feel connected and are benefitting from this experience.

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

Over the course of my experience I have had the pleasure of working with people of all ages, backgrounds, cultures, and identities. I feel this had a big impact in shaping my strengths as a therapist. I emulate compassion, energy, and honesty in my time working with others. Therapy can be a lot and I feel that laughter or light heartedness are also important to a good therapeutic connection!

Describe the client(s) you are best positioned to serve.

Do you find yourself feeling lost in life or in your sense of self? Chronically tired and only have the energy to doomscroll at the end of ther day? Irritable and anxious at little or big things? I get it! People who try and be all things to everyone lose sight of the most valuable thing; them as an individual. The people I connect with come ready to work together to identify sources of their anxiety, depression, burnout, etc. We put the pieces of the puzzle together and see where we can make adjustments in thoughts, emotions, and quality of life. Your strenghts, values, and self-awareness are important components to maximize your wellbeing and can get lost in the fog of anxiety or depression. Those I work with with understand that the journey of optimizing ourselves is a marathon, not a sprint. Goals are important but the process of recreating ourselves is life long. Taking what is learned from our time together and building on it to maintain the hard work you have done. My clients are able to understand to importance of giving themselves grace when needed, but also credit for their movement forward. When you are ready to make yourself a priority we can schedule a time to connect!

About Melissa Stroup