- CBT strategies
- ACT and values work
- Mindfulness skills
About Melissa
Melissa Torres is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing in Virginia with six years of experience. She works with people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, trauma and abuse, and the strain of caregiving and compassion fatigue. Melissa also focuses on relationship and intimacy concerns, self-esteem, career pressures, and feelings of guilt and shame.
Her sessions emphasize clear, practical work. She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to look at thinking patterns and actions, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people notice difficult emotions without being controlled by them. Mindfulness exercises and skills from Dialectical Behavior Therapy are offered when helpful.
Melissa brings bilingual services in English and Spanish. She describes her practice as culturally responsive and attentive to diverse backgrounds, including people who identify with different cultural or life experiences. She mentions experience with veterans and first responders among the populations she has worked with.
In a typical meeting she listens for what feels most troubling, then helps identify small, doable steps for change. Sessions can address family of origin issues, communication problems, codependency, divorce and separation, and substance use concerns alongside emotional symptoms.
Her approach blends reflective listening with concrete tools such as behavioral experiments, grounding practices, and values-based planning. That mix aims to help people manage day-to-day stressors while working through longer-standing patterns related to attachment, abandonment, or shame.
How Melissa uses ACT, CBT and mindfulness online
Melissa draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people get clearer about their values and take small steps that align with what matters to them, even when guilt or painful emotions are present. She also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify unhelpful thinking patterns and try out new behaviors that change how someone feels over time.Mindfulness therapy is offered as a way to practice noticing moment-to-moment experience and to reduce reactivity to distressing memories or shame. These approaches commonly help with anxiety, depression, trauma responses, and problems tied to substance use and relationship stress.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. Melissa collaborates with each person to choose which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences. She will discuss options and adjust the plan based on what works in actual sessions.
Session formats are not specified here, so please confirm the available online session options before booking. When arranged online, therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time. That flexibility can help keep progress consistent while integrating tools like behavioral experiments and mindfulness practices into daily life.
Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
6+ years
Listed in
Virginia
Languages
English, Spanish
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, addictions, grief, relationship and intimacy issues, self-esteem concerns, career stress, and guilt and shame.
How would she approach feelings of guilt or shame?
She uses methods such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice and respond to guilt and shame more intentionally without letting those feelings dictate behavior.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has six years of professional experience as a clinician working with a range of emotional and behavioral concerns.
What credential does she hold and where does she practice?
She is a Virginia Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing in Virginia.
Can sessions be conducted in other languages?
Sessions are offered in English and Spanish.
Does she work with international clients?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How are sessions paid for?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What are the first steps to begin?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, use the crisis numbers.