Melanie Giarratano
Supportive counselor for families and parents
- Credentials
- LMHC, LCMHC
- Experience
- 4 years
- Licensed in
- New York, Utah
- Languages
- English
- Format
- Online sessions
About Melanie
Melanie Giarratano is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who builds care around each person’s needs. She trained in neuroscience and mental health counseling, and she blends that background into everyday work with families and parents. Her approach is practical and direct, focusing on what families and caregivers can do now to make life steadier.
She has four years of professional experience in inpatient psychiatric settings and outpatient care. That work exposed her to people with complex trauma, mood difficulties, and substance use.
Background and approach
Those experiences shape how she notices stress responses and helps families learn new patterns. Melanie mixes several methods to match a client’s style. She uses motivational interviewing to support change and client-centered techniques when people need encouragement.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps identify and shift unhelpful thoughts, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills provide coping tools for strong emotions. In sessions she focuses on clear skills and simple homework when it fits the person’s goals. She also pays attention to family context and developmental history to understand patterns that repeat across relationships.
Parents often leave with concrete strategies for communication and behavior support. Outside of work she models self-care through yoga, biking, time with friends and family, and caring for her dog. Melanie encourages families to find small routines that lift mood and make daily life more manageable.
Therapeutic approaches and how they work online
Melanie commonly draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy to help clients build skills and manage difficult feelings. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy looks at the link between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and teaches simple tools like thought records and behavior experiments to reduce stressful patterns. Dialectical Behavior Therapy offers practical emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal skills that help people handle intense moods and improve communication.She also uses Client-Centered Therapy to provide a supportive, nonjudgmental space where clients can explore goals and feel heard. Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist and client will discuss goals, try methods, and adjust the plan until it fits the client’s needs and preferences.
Online sessions are offered using video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy accessible around busy family schedules. These options let parents and caregivers choose a format that fits their routine and comfort level, and they make it easier to keep momentum between appointments.
Client-Centered Therapy
The direction comes from you rather than from a set programme. The therapist offers a warm, non-judgemental space to think out loud and work at your own pace. Online, this rests on the relationship rather than on being in the same room.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT looks at the link between what you think, how you feel, and what you do. You work on noticing unhelpful patterns and practising steadier responses. It suits online sessions well, because much of the work happens between appointments and can be talked through from anywhere.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Concrete skills for riding out strong emotion, tolerating distress, and handling relationships without things escalating. The skills are practised in daily life, so between-session support by message or phone fits naturally.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also works with
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Communication problems
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Family conflicts
- Jealousy
- Mood disorders
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 4 years
- Licensed
- New York, Utah
- Languages
- English
Next step
Talk to Melanie
- Takes a few minutes
- Nothing to set up just to look
- Stop at any point