Marissa Melhuse, LCSW

Marissa Melhuse is a licensed clinical social worker, LCSW, licensed in California with four years of clinical experience. She focuses on stress, anxiety, addictions, trauma and abuse, grief, and depression. She also addresses communication problems, control issues, divorce and separation, forgiveness, guilt and shame, isolation and loneliness, post-traumatic stress, and self-love.

She has worked across levels of care including detox, partial hospitalization programs, and intensive outpatient programs. That background means she is familiar with crises and with transitions back into everyday life. She explains clinical ideas in plain language and pays attention to practical steps clients can use between sessions.

Her approach is integrative and includes eye movement desensitization and reprocessing as one of the techniques she uses. She draws on her experience in education to make explanations clear and to help people learn coping skills that fit their daily routines.

In sessions she focuses on building sustainable coping strategies rather than quick fixes. Conversations tend to center on what is happening now, skills to manage strong emotions, and concrete ways to reduce substance use or manage co-occurring symptoms.

People who choose to work with her are asked to complete a short matching questionnaire before the first appointment. The intake helps identify current needs and the next steps toward setting goals and scheduling an initial session.

Therapeutic methods and how online sessions work