Melissa Simonson
Compassionate counseling with practical steps
- Credentials
- MD, LCPC, LPC
- Experience
- 5 years
- Licensed in
- Maryland, Virginia
- Languages
- English
- Format
- Online sessions
About Melissa
Melissa Simonson is a licensed clinician practicing in Maryland. She has five years of clinical counseling experience and a background in education, where she spent 15 years as a teacher and administrator. She helps people navigate stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, parenting challenges, low self-esteem, and depression.
Her approach is grounded in respect, sensitivity, and compassion as she listens and responds to each person’s needs. Melissa adapts conversations and plans to fit what each client brings to the room.
Background and approach
She focuses on practical steps people can use day to day. She also supports work on attachment concerns, blended family dynamics, and issues around control and forgiveness. Her experience includes helping with separation and divorce adjustment, family problems, and young adult issues.
She has worked with mood disorders and post-traumatic stress as part of her clinical practice. Clients can expect straightforward guidance that connects goals to actions. Melissa holds an MD and is licensed as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor - LCPC and as an LPC in Virginia.
She draws on her time in schools to keep explanations clear and useful. Sessions are offered in English and delivered via video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging. Starting with a short matching questionnaire helps people find a good fit.
From there scheduling follows the therapist’s availability and the subscription plan that covers sessions.
Therapeutic approaches and online care
Melissa uses evidence-based techniques that focus on clear, practical skills and understanding how past experiences shape current feelings. One approach emphasizes tracking patterns in thoughts and behaviors to reduce anxiety and low mood; it helps people spot unhelpful thinking and try small, manageable changes. Another approach centers on processing trauma and its effects, offering ways to reduce distress linked to past abuse or stressful events and to build stronger emotional regulation.Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences, and what feels most helpful, then try approaches that match those needs. This is a collaborative process and adjustments are made as progress and feedback guide the plan.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy more convenient. These options let people meet from home, fit sessions into busy schedules, and follow a steady plan even when life is hectic. The mix of formats supports both real-time conversations and shorter check-ins between sessions, giving flexibility while working toward your goals.
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Parenting issues
Also works with
- Experience
- 5 years
- Licensed
- Maryland, Virginia
- Languages
- English
Next step
Talk to Melissa
- Takes a few minutes
- Nothing to set up just to look
- Stop at any point