About Melissa
Melissa McHenry is a licensed counselor with a long history of helping people navigate stressful and painful life moments. She holds two master’s degrees in psychology and brings 23 years of professional experience to each conversation. She speaks English and practices in Illinois as an LPC and an LCPC.
Melissa focuses on clear, respectful communication and practical steps you can try between sessions. She helps people who are coping with anxiety, depression, grief, anger, relationship struggles, trauma and abuse, and life transitions.
Background and approach
She also supports those dealing with bipolar challenges, career stress, self-esteem concerns, and questions around LGBT issues. In sessions she adapts the plan to the person in front of her. That means talking through what’s most urgent, setting simple goals, and deciding what to work on next.
She draws on evidence-based therapeutic techniques and keeps explanations straightforward. Her background includes work with self-injurious behaviors, PTSD, and domestic violence. Melissa emphasizes sensitivity and respect while helping people develop coping tools and new ways to respond to old patterns.
She aims to make therapy practical and relevant to day-to-day life. Getting started is treated as a collaborative step. She encourages patients to take the pace that feels right and to raise concerns about the approach as therapy unfolds.
Approaches that guide online sessions and how they help
Melissa uses practical, evidence-based techniques that focus on changing unhelpful patterns and building skills. One common approach emphasizes identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing them against real life; this helps reduce anxiety and depression by shifting how people interpret situations. Another approach centers on developing coping skills and behavioral changes - practicing small, doable actions that improve mood, reduce reactivity, and support recovery after trauma.Finding the best approach is a joint process. The therapist will listen to your goals and preferences, try methods that fit your situation, and adjust what you do together based on what works. That collaborative planning helps shape an approach that feels right and useful.
Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy fit your life. Video lets you have a focused face-to-face conversation. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or when you prefer not to be on camera. Live chat and text work well for quick check-ins, shorter exchanges, or people who process better in writing. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent around work, school, or busy family routines.
Questions people ask
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What this counselor works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also listed
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- LGBT
- Self esteem
- Experience
- 23 years
- Licensed
- Illinois, Missouri
- Languages
- English