Melissa Barsotti (she/her/hers)

I like to teach my clients to be curious about their symptoms, in a non-pathological way. Physical aches, and emotional distress, and thoughts of suicide, are merely ways that your system is trying to communicate to you that something needs to be looked at. Something is wrong. That something is not you. Therapists treat what they know. I know depression through personal and professional experience. I bring a compassionate lens, and teach you to detach and heal from your symptoms.

Dissociation is an important defense that was necessary at the time in which it first began. I teach my clients how to appreciate their defenses, including dissociation. Because of dissociation, you have survived your environment. I will teach you to relate to dissociation in a compassionate way, that will promote healing. Dissociation means "not me." I have learned that my clients, including myself, were not allowed to develop a self because they/we were too busy surviving.

I specifically use Exposure response prevention to address harm OCD. Mindfulness based cognitive behavioral therapy is also an evidenced based approach to decreasing intensity and frequency of experienced anxiety. I also use EMDR, especially if anxiety is primarily due to developmental trauma. I teach my clients to befriend their anxiety. We achieve this by practicing mindful attitudes of acceptance, letting go, and non-striving. Addressing trauma and unmet needs is crucial for healing.

Therapists treat what they know. I personally and professionally know anxiety, depression, and trauma. Distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and mindfulness are essential to desired healing. I enjoy giving my clients practical life tools that can be used at any time, anywhere. DBT tools are helpful for grounding, addressing undesired behaviors, including addictions, and maintaining desired healthy relationships.

Meditation can be a difficult practice that can take years to master. Mindfulness can be done in seconds. I incorporate mindful attitudes and mindful minute-three minute meditations in most of my sessions. I use mindfulness to mentally check-in to thoughts/emotions/and body sensations. Mindfulness can be used for grounding and returning to a desired arousal state, as opposed to hyper-aroused or hypo-aroused. Through advanced courses and my own journey, I have become a mindful therapist.

I was trained in EMDR in 2017 and have received much consultation since. EMDR takes years to master, and I am finally at a point where I am pursuing certification. Specifically, my advanced courses have focused on complex trauma and dissociation. Treating trauma is a passion of mine, and I have found EMDR to be a very efficient way to bring long-lasting healing and change.