Therapist for Youth, Teens, Adults & Couples
Cultivating Wholeness through Curiosity, Creativity, and Connection

Hi, I’m Meli.

I believe there is a spark of vitality and inner wisdom in each of us - a part that knows what we need, what matters to us, and who we are becoming. But that spark can get buried beneath anxiety, depression, self-criticism, old wounds, or the pressure to be who we think we should be. Therapy with me can be a place to find your way back to it.

I work with youth, teens, and adults to help you quiet the inner critic, navigate periods of uncertainty and change, build healthier relationships, and reconnect with your own voice, desires, and sense of possibility. Together, we can loosen the grip of patterns that keep you stuck, make room for emotions and parts of yourself that have been pushed away, and make space for new ways of being that feel more authentic, connected, and free. 

My approach is warm, relational, and grounded in gentle curiosity. I weave depth with lightness, drawing from conversation, the body, imagination, creativity, and humor. Rather than seeing you as a problem to be fixed, I’m interested in helping you understand the ways you’ve learned to survive, and in creating the conditions for something new to emerge. 

My work is grounded in a commitment to anti-racism, social justice, LGBTQIA+ affirmation, and culturally responsive care. I strive to meet you in the fullness of who you are, with attention to the identities, relationships, cultures, communities, and systems that have shaped your experience.

Ultimately, I hope our work helps you to flourish – to feel more grounded in turbulent times, more connected in your relationships, more trusting of your own inner compass, and more fully alive.

My Specialties

• Life Transitions & Identity Exploration: Sometimes we reach a point where the old way of living no longer quite fits, but we aren’t sure what comes next. You may be starting something new, questioning a relationship or career, exploring your identity, grieving a version of your life you thought you would have, or simply longing for something different. I offer space to listen for what is emerging and help you build resilience as you navigate transitions and growth. 

• Relationships, Couples & Family Therapy: Our relationships can be some of our greatest sources of joy, and some of our deepest challenges. I help couples, partners, and families understand what lies beneath conflict and find new ways of listening and relating to one another. I welcome clients across diverse relationship structures.

• Anxiety, Depression & Perfectionism: Sometimes our minds get very loud; other times, we may feel numb, disconnected, or unable to access the parts of life that once brought us joy. Together, we can work to disrupt the power of harsh inner voices and make more room for self-compassion, vitality, and possibility.

• Therapy for Adolescents & Teens: Adolescence is a time of enormous change: figuring out who you are, where you belong, and how to navigate relationships, family, school, identity, and an increasingly complicated world. I bring warmth, playfulness, creativity, and respect to my work with teens, creating a space where they can genuinely feel seen and heard while developing greater emotional awareness, resilience, and trust in themselves.

• Therapy for Creatives & Intuitives: As an artist myself, I understand both the vitality and vulnerability that can come with a creative life. I enjoy working with deep-feeling or creative people who may be navigating creative blocks, self-doubt, sensitivity, or questions of purpose. Therapy can be a place to reconnect with creativity not only as something you produce, but as a way of listening to yourself and engaging with life.

My Approach to Therapy

• Collaborative & Relational: I see therapy as something we create together. You are the expert on your own experience; I bring curiosity, perspective, and careful attention to what unfolds between us. I want to understand not only what you are experiencing, but the larger story surrounding it - your relationships, family, culture, history, body, identities, and the experiences that have shaped how you move through the world.

• Holistic & Integrative: I’m interested in the whole person - mind, body, and spirit. My work draws from psychodynamic therapy, depth psychology, Internal Family Systems (IFS) and parts work, somatic approaches, ecotherapy, and expressive arts. Sometimes therapy may look like conversation and reflection; at other times, we might work with imagery, dreams, art, writing, the body, or other creative practices to explore experiences that words alone cannot fully express.

• Nature-Connected: I believe deeply in the healing potential of our relationship with the natural world. Nature can offer grounding, perspective, wonder, and a sense of belonging to something larger than ourselves. When it feels meaningful to you, we can incorporate nature-based practices and explore your relationship with the living world as a resource for healing and self-understanding.

A Little About Me

Before becoming a therapist, I worked as a cultural anthropologist and qualitative researcher in the technology industry, including five years at Etsy Inc. Those experiences continue to shape the way I listen: with curiosity about people’s stories and attention to the social, cultural, familial, and historical worlds we inhabit.

I am also a visual artist and have facilitated expressive arts workshops and wilderness rites of passage programs with teens and adults. Creativity, imagination, and connection with the natural world are important parts of my own life and deeply inform the way I understand healing.

Education & Credentials

I am a Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT) and Associate Professional Clinical Counselor (APCC) in California.

• Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology - Pacifica Graduate Institute

• Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Urban Studies - Northwestern University

• Certificate in Fine Arts - Marchutz School of Painting & Drawing

My work is supervised by Dr. Juliana Ybarra, PsyD (PSY28799). Dr. Ybarra is a multiethnic (Latinx, Black, Indigenous, Italian) queer psychologist with over 15 years of experience in the mental health field, specializing in trauma, sexual assault, relationship issues, and supporting BIPOC and 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals.