Melissa West(She Her)

Bio  I'm Melissa and I'm an LPC in the State of Virginia. I am passionate about mental health, healing, and hope. Understanding your mental health and what is going on with you is the starting point on your healing journey.  I grew up in Seattle Washington and attended college in Oregon. I received my Master’s in Professional Counseling through Liberty University in 2016. I've lived in Virginia for the past 15 years. I am a single mom with 4 kids. I love laughing, reading, and spending time with my kids.  I grew up in an alcoholic family and credit Jesus with keeping me away from the dysfunction I grew up in. I offer a Christian worldview.   I have been a counselor for 8 years and have worked with many age groups with various diagnoses and in a variety of settings. Counseling needs to be a safe place and a counselor needs to be a person who can handle talking about the tough stuff. Counseling is not polite conversation. I begin the counseling relationship with developing emotional safety, educating clients about mental health and creating a better understanding of what is going on with them, processing their experiences, and developing a "toolbox" to help them improve their lives. I focus on emotions- why we have them, how to sit with them, and how to manage them. I believe that "the only way out is through" and to tackle struggles, a comprehensive approach is needed to look at family history, family dynamics, biological issues, psychological issues, cultural influences, medical history, social influences, spiritual influences, and current level of functioning. This information allows me to plan treatment to ensure that you receive the best care.  I provide counseling for relationship struggles parenting, trauma, anxiety, depression, adjustment disorders, ADHD, and adult children of alcoholics.