Melani Mood

Melani earned her MA in Experimental Psychology from Middle Tennessee State University in 2016. She went on to doctoral work at Capella University in Addiction Psychology, which she hopes to finish in the coming years. Melani’s professional experiences varied to have worked alongside tenured faculty to teach through implementing research designs on a variety of Behavioral Health topics, focusing on the advocacy of minorities, specifically LGBTQ+ populations, whom Melani has worked in support of for nearly 4 decades. Clinically, Melani serves clients with a variety of therapeutic modalities, techniques, and approaches, which she works in partnership with her clients to tailor-fit to each client’s needs, strengths, and overall goals. In a therapeutic setting, education, advocacy, and empowerment underscore her clinical work. She offers genuine relatability based upon an empathic Person-Centered approach to care, placing the client in a partner role throughout the therapeutic journey. With strong roots in research, Melani also takes a data-driven approach to care by measuring progress to give clients objective feedback in response to subjective themes and treatment goals. With clients. Melani models strong self-care that reaches for client participation, rapport-building, empowerment, and growth. With a focus and expertise in unprocessed trauma and the Sexual Minority Stress Paradigm, Melani completed specialized training in both DBT and EMDR. She possesses accrediting certifications and firsthand consumer experience linking these modalities with Polyvagal and Jungian techniques. Melani also utilizes techniques founded in more than a decade of clinical work in crisis and Substance Use Disorders. Melani regards the therapeutic space to be sacred and seeks to foster a climate that promotes safety and collaboration. Melani’s clients display a willingness to display vulnerabilities, a strong commitment to therapeutic work, and dedication to consistently peeling off the layers to uncover the roots of their unique journey.