Services Melissa Offers

I see clients in person at our Campbell office and virtually across California and Virginia.

I specialize in supporting children, teens, and families as they navigate the pressures of growing up and staying connected. I help clients manage stressors tied to school, work, and identity. Since everyone feels differently, I tailor my approach, integrating tools to regulate emotions while honoring the unique systems and environments you live in.

I also facilitate DBT skills groups for teens and young adults, combining structured skill-building with genuine peer connection. Learn more about our teen connection group, teen DBT skills group (13–18), young adult DBT group, and parenting group.

Specialties and Focus Areas

My main areas of specialty include:

• Anxiety
• ADHD
• Parenting and Family Therapy

About Melissa

I am a board-certified, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in working with children, teenagers, and families. I have a Master’s in Counseling from Santa Clara University and am licensed to practice therapy in California, and telehealth in Virginia.

I’ve always believed that healing happens through connection. When people feel genuinely seen, understood, and accepted, they’re better able to move through life’s challenges and create meaningful, lasting change. My goal is to provide a warm, collaborative space where clients feel safe being themselves, exploring difficult emotions, and building the skills they need to thrive.

Many of the people I work with come to therapy feeling overwhelmed by anxiety, OCD, ADHD, depression, trauma, relationship challenges, or emotions that feel difficult to manage. Others are navigating life transitions, identity development, family conflict, or the unique challenges that come with growing up in today’s world. Whatever brings you to therapy, my approach is tailored to your individual needs, experiences, and goals.

I draw from evidence-based approaches including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), attachment-based therapy, family systems, the Gottman Method, and trauma-informed care. I especially like helping clients better understand themselves, strengthen their relationships, and develop practical tools they can use long after therapy ends. I enjoy working with children and tweens with big emotions, with a strong emphasis on parent involvement. I also have a passion for working with children of immigrant families, culturally diverse communities, and individuals navigating different cultural or generational experiences within their families.

My career has allowed me to work across a wide range of clinical settings, including private practice, hospital-based care, intensive outpatient programs, partial hospitalization programs, schools, and community mental health. These experiences have given me the opportunity to support clients with everything from everyday stressors to severe emotional dysregulation and mental health crises, while collaborating closely with psychiatrists, physicians, educators, and multidisciplinary treatment teams to provide comprehensive care.

Today, I split my time between Thrive Hive Counseling and El Camino Health’s ASPIRE Intensive Outpatient Program. At Thrive Hive, I provide individual, family, couples, and group therapy while leading the expansion of our group therapy program. I developed and facilitate specialized DBT groups for adolescents, young adults, and adults because I believe group therapy offers a unique opportunity to practice new skills, build confidence, and realize you’re not alone in what you’re experiencing.

Working in an intensive outpatient setting has also strengthened my ability to help clients and families navigate periods of significant emotional distress with compassion, structure, and hope. Whether I’m supporting a child struggling with anxiety, helping parents strengthen communication at home, or guiding couples toward healthier patterns of connection, I believe lasting change happens when people feel supported, empowered, and understood.

Seeking therapy is a courageous step, and I know it isn’t always easy. Whether you’re looking for support for yourself, your child, your relationship, or your family, I’d be honored to walk alongside you as you build resilience, deepen self-understanding, and create the life and relationships you want.

What It’s Like to Work With Melissa

Working with me feels like entering a collaborative, non-judgmental space where you are truly seen. I take a relational approach, meaning our therapeutic connection is the heart of our work together. Whether I am working with a child, a teen, or an adult, we explore how your earliest relationships and current environment shape your world, using the insights of attachment theory to find healing. To help you navigate daily life, I weave in practical DBT skills and psychoeducation, ensuring you leave our sessions not just feeling understood, but truly equipped.

Expertise In

• Anxiety & Depression
• Educational System Support
• Gifted and Twice Exceptional
• Life Transitions
• Parenting & Family Conflict
• Relationships & Attachment
• Trauma
• Self-Harm
• Learning Differences
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Experience Working With

• Children, teens, adults, and parents with kids with big emotions
• Children of immigrants
• Supporting immigrant parents raise bi-cultural children
• Trauma, PTSD
• Supporting families launching a teen to college
• Anxiety and Depression
• Educational System Support
• Gifted and Twice Exceptional
• Life Transitions
• Parenting and Family Conflict
• Relationships and Attachment
• Trauma
• Self-Harm
• Learning Differences
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Therapeutic Approach

I practice from a client-centered, relational perspective, blending warmth, collaboration, cultural responsiveness, and evidence-based care to help clients better understand their experiences, build on their strengths, and move toward meaningful, sustainable change. I integrate multiple evidence-based modalities, including:

• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
• EMDR
• Emotion Focused Therapy
• Gottman Method
• Attachment-Based Family Therapy
• Structural Family Therapy

Education & Training

Education

• M.A., Santa Clara University, Counseling Psychology
• M.A., San Jose State University, Research and Experimental Psychology
• B.A., San Jose State University, Psychology

Training

• Comprehensive DBT
• Attachment-based Family Therapy
• Gottman Couples Therapy
• EMDR
• CBT

Life Outside the Therapy Room

Outside of sessions, you can find me:

• At a coffee shop with a latte and a book or my laptop.
• Hunting for the best seasonal finds at our area’s farmers’ markets.
• Embracing the sidelines and staying busy with my kids’ activities and family time.
• Unwinding at home with my family and my cats.

Additional Areas of Expertise

I also support clients navigating:

• Anxiety and Depression
• Educational System Support
• Gifted and Twice Exceptional
• Life Transitions
• Parenting and Family Conflict
• Relationships and Attachment
• Trauma
• Self-Harm
• Learning Differences
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder