Melissa Huemmer, LCSW
Ms. Melissa Huemmer has more than twenty-five years of clinical experience providing therapy to people of all ages from children to seniors, and is licensed in NC. She earned a master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from UNC-Chapel Hill with additional focus on children and families, and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology. Melissa has provided services in a variety of settings over her career. She works with clients from a strengths-based perspective to promote self-empowerment and aspiration to reach identified goals.
Melissa’s approach to therapy is to operate from a strength perspective, explore roadblocks and provide education about skills that will facilitate clients achieving their goals. She believes in listening to her clients to discover how they connect with the world and what they value and find motivating. Together, a range of techniques are utilized to achieve growth and the goals established. These techniques may be mindfulness and relaxation, cognitive behavioral therapy, social skills training, storytelling, trauma work, role play, communication skills, or any combination that is indicated based on the client’s needs. Melissa believes in being clear with her clients and providing feedback throughout the process. She can help clients identify their goals even if all they know at the beginning is, “I am tired of feeling this way.” Melissa believes that an understanding of differences, connection to nature, and a balance of mind and body allow us all to be our best selves, and this balance is different for everyone. Therapy is about a client and therapist establishing a relationship of trust and safety so that change and growth can occur.
Melissa has experience working with clients of all ages presenting with challenges whether they be related to behavior or mood/feelings. Areas she works with, to name a few, include: all forms of anxiety, depression, trauma, social isolation, social skills, relationship issues, and life transitions. She has worked with children, teenagers, young adults, parents, families and seniors to address current behavior and/or mood challenges, and to navigate transitions both planned and unexpected. Melissa provides individual therapy, family therapy, and group therapy. Her work has been across the lifespan. For example, her breadth includes helping children learn emotion regulation, teenagers improve social skills, young adults succeed at first jobs, adults manage depression and anxiety, couples improve their marriages, seniors to age with grace, and families in renegotiating changing family roles. Melissa welcomes clients of all ages with all presenting problems.
Melissa has worked with families and children throughout her career. She adapts a non-judgmental, relationship-based approach with the goal of connecting to the family members, so they can be honest with her and themselves about what they are feeling. Melissa uses play therapy and expressive arts as a mode for treatment with younger children, and incorporates parent and family work as well for an effective systems-focused approach. With children and teens of all ages, Melissa provides therapy for a broad array of childhood issues such as depression, general anxiety, social anxiety, school anxiety and refusal, sibling rivalry, parent-child relationship rifts, oppositional behavior, conduct issues, academic struggles, attention deficit, healthy lifestyle choices, and supportive therapy for life changes such as moving or divorce or grief. She also works with multigenerational families living together at all ages, and assists in adapting styles of communication and parenting to the stage and need of the people currently struggling.
Melissa has worked with adolescents for over 25 years in individual, family, day treatment and inpatient settings. She adapts a non-judgmental, relationship-based approach with the goal of connecting to the adolescent so they can be honest with her and themselves about what they are feeling. She incorporates parent and family work as well for an effective systems-focused approach. With children and teens of all ages, Melissa provides therapy for a broad array of childhood issues such as depression, general anxiety, social anxiety, school anxiety and refusal, gender identity, bullying, trauma and abuse, sibling rivalry, parent-child relationship rifts, oppositional behavior, conduct issues, academic struggles, attention deficit, healthy lifestyle choices, and supportive therapy for life changes such as moving or divorce or grief. Teenagers are experiencing changes on multiple levels and often can’t find the words to express their thoughts; Melissa helps them be able to do this. Therapy with teens includes art, music, nature and other activities to facilitate communication.
Separation and divorce can be a challenging time that is often emotionally charged for both adults as well as children of any age that are involved in the process of redefining family. Melissa provides therapy in a safe, open, honest and non-biased setting to support them through this life transition and focuses on self-care and coping skills. Everyone involved want to understand what is happening and what lies ahead. Each person will be impacted differently based on their own personality, past experiences and their ability to have any control over what is happening. The emotions involved vary day to day and person to person and these feelings can be confusing, frustrating and painful. With parents, Melissa provides support to each individual as they face this life change and promotes establishing a healthy and effective co-parenting relationship for the benefit of the children. The goal is to identify their own part and work towards emerging from the loss of this relationship towards positive, healthy relationships going forward.