Melissa Monahan , LPC

Melissa Monahan is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) based in Arizona who focuses on common problems people bring to therapy. She works with stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, trauma and abuse, and concerns related to women's issues. Melissa takes a direct, down-to-earth approach aimed at helping people feel heard and understood.

Her style is client-centered, which means conversations follow what matters most to each person. She uses practical tools from cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and try new coping strategies. Dialectical behavior therapy skills and solution-focused techniques are also part of her toolbox when they match a client's needs.

Melissa has three years of formal experience as an LPC and background in working with people affected by substance use and co-occurring mood concerns. She pays attention to how trauma and life stressors feed into patterns like substance use, anger, and low self-esteem. Her aim is to help people build clearer choices and small, doable steps toward change.

Sessions are conversational and goal-oriented. Melissa encourages clients to set the pace and bring what feels most important. She emphasizes practical steps people can try between sessions to reduce overwhelm and build confidence.

For people in Arizona who prefer working in English, Melissa offers video, phone, live chat, and text-based messaging options. Starting usually involves a short matching questionnaire and scheduling a first session that fits each persons timing.

Using practical approaches for online therapy

Client-centered therapy focuses on following the client's priorities and creating a calm, nonjudgmental space. It helps people talk through worries, clarify what matters, and set the pace for change.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions connect. Melissa uses simple CBT exercises to help people identify unhelpful thinking and practice more effective responses for anxiety, depression, and mood concerns.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) provides skills for managing strong emotions and improving interpersonal communication. DBT techniques are useful for stress, anger, and situations where emotion regulation feels difficult.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Melissa collaborates with clients to test techniques and adapt based on what feels useful. Decisions about which methods to use come from the person's goals, comfort, and daily life demands.

Online sessions are available by video, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different routines. Video calls let people use visual cues for deeper conversations, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited, live chat can be a shorter check-in, and messaging supports ongoing reflection between appointments. These options aim to make therapy more flexible and easier to fit into busy lives.