Melissa Strauss
Practical, relationship-focused counseling with warmth
LPC Pennsylvania
- Experience
- 13 years in practice
- Focus areas
- Stress, Anxiety, Relationship, Grief
- Approaches
- Gottman Method, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Languages
- English
About Melissa
Melissa Strauss is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with thirteen years of experience. She focuses on everyday problems that can feel overwhelming, such as stress, anxiety, depression, relationship strain, grief, and questions about identity.
Background and approach
Melissa writes and talks plainly so people can understand the steps they will take together. She uses practical methods to help clients manage strong feelings and improve how they relate to others.
That can mean learning new coping skills for anxiety or practicing ways to speak and listen more clearly in a relationship. Sessions are collaborative and paced to match each person's comfort level.
Melissa blends several approaches to fit what a client needs in the moment. She draws on the Gottman Method when addressing relationship patterns, acceptance and commitment therapy to help with values and action, and attachment-based ideas to look at long-standing connection issues.
She also uses cognitive behavioral techniques to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. Clients can expect a warm, direct style that points to specific steps between sessions.
Melissa aims to highlight strengths and small wins so progress is visible. She invites people to set goals together and adjusts strategies as life changes.
Melissa practices in Pennsylvania and communicates in English. She works with a wide range of concerns including trauma and abuse, parenting and blended family challenges, body image, ADHD, and career or life purpose questions.
Approaches that translate well to online sessions
Melissa commonly uses the Gottman Method to look at how partners interact and to build better communication habits; this approach focuses on observable patterns and practical exercises that can be practiced between sessions. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people clarify what matters to them and take small actions toward those values while learning to sit with difficult feelings. Attachment-Based Therapy explores how early connection styles show up now and helps people change expectations and responses in close relationships.Finding the right approach is part of the work. Melissa will talk with clients about goals and preferences, then suggest one or a mix of approaches that fit. Decisions are made together and can shift as needs change over time.
Online sessions are offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy more flexible. Video calls let you use face-to-face exercises and real-time feedback, phone sessions can be lower bandwidth, and messaging or live chat works well for brief check-ins or when scheduling is tight. These options let people fit therapy around work, parenting, and travel while keeping consistent contact with a licensed professional.
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Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
13+ years
Licensed in
Pennsylvania, New Jersey
Languages
English