Merissa Lindsay
I am licensed in Pennsylvania with years of professional therapy experience. I have experience working with clients who have mild to severe mental illness via my work in inpatient hospitals, group homes, case management, behavioral health insurance management, elementary, middle and high school settings.
I have first hand experience with dealing with struggles to get basic needs met, issues that affect communities, families, schools as well as individuals.
I have spent the majority of my career providing counseling services to women and children in an Outpatient Therapy setting. I enjoy working with clients to manage stress, anxiety, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, & motivation, self esteem, and confidence. Taking the first step to seeking a more fulfilling and happier life takes courage. I am here to support you in that process.
First session
In our first session together, we'll start with brief introductions, then dive into the specific challenges you're facing. This will help me create a tailored plan for us to work through in follow-up sessions.
Strengths
Having worked in the social work field since 2007 has given me the opportunity to literally meet clients where they are through my roles as a Case Manager, School Social Worker, Inpatient Hospital Social Worker and Behavioral Health Insurance Representative. I have first hand experience with dealing with struggles to get basic needs met, issues that affect communities, families, schools as well as individuals. I have been able to spend years of my career serving as an Outpatient Therapist to help clients make treatment plans to address their struggles with unresolved childhood issues, traumas, grief, career paths, relationship issues, parenting struggles, issues that lead to depression, anxiety, mood instability, addictions and unhealthy thoughts and behaviors. I am able to empathize with a person's struggles, validate feelings and empower people to overcome hardships.
Ideal clients
My heart has always resided with women issues. Being a woman comes with many complexities, expectations, struggles and rewards. I aim to help women recognize their strengths and empower them to overcome the adversities that have been placed upon them.
Treatment methods
Grief Therapy
I have been using grief therapy in sessions with women, adolescents and parents of children over the past years in OP therapy. Through grief therapy, I partner with my clients to identify and understand the 5 stages of grief and the 4 tasks of mourning. I provide a safe space for clients to process their emotions. I offer validation for feelings. In conclusion I work with clients to explore coping strategies that suit the individual’s unique needs
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I rely heavily on CBT with my clients who deal with depression, anxiety, trauma, grief and adjustment issues. I help clients identify maladaptive patterns of thinking, emotional responses, or behaviors and replacing them with more desirable patterns.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
I use Mindfulness-Based Therapy on a regular basis to help clients who deal with anxiety to teach them to consciously pay attention to their thoughts and feelings without placing any judgments upon them. Mindfulness involves becoming more aware of the present moment. It's something that can be practiced during meditation, but people can also incorporate these activities into the things they do every day. Examples of how mindfulness can be used are through yoga, meditation, body scanning, awareness of the 5 senses, progressive muscle relaxation and breathing exercises.
Strength-Based
My experience with this method has been in community based mental health treatment in both Case Management and Outpatient Therapy. I use this to focus on a person's internal strengths and resourcefulness, rather than on the person's weaknesses, failures, and shortcomings. I use this to help set a positive mindset that helps you build on your best qualities, find your strengths, improve resilience, and change your worldview to one that is more positive.
EMDR
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a mental health treatment technique that I use with clients both in person and online. This method involves moving client's eyes a specific way while processing traumatic memories. My goal with using EMDR is to help clients heal from trauma or other distressing life experiences by desensitizing reactions to traumatic memories and developing healthier thought patterns related to the trauma.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
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Serves
Licensed in
- PennsylvaniaLicense CW019185