About Melissa
Melissa Upton is a Licensed Professional Counselor based in Mississippi who helps people manage stress, anxiety, depression, and relationship strain. She also supports those facing parenting challenges, trauma and abuse, anger, self-esteem struggles, and issues related to ADHD. Her approach aims to make therapy practical and understandable for busy people and parents.
She spent 25 years working in the public school system and 14 years specifically as a school counselor.
Background and approach
That background shaped how she talks with teens and adults about coping skills, anger management, career planning, and academic concerns. She draws on that experience when helping clients set clear goals and next steps. Melissa favors a client-centered style that focuses on each person’s strengths and choices.
She combines that with solution-focused ideas to help people find concrete ways forward. Sessions tend to focus on realistic steps rather than long, abstract theory. In sessions she listens first and then helps clients identify small changes that can make a difference.
She uses plain language and practical tools for everyday problems like work stress, family conflict, and life transitions. Parents can expect straightforward guidance on parenting, blended family dynamics, and communication skills. Her practice also addresses sensitive issues such as domestic violence, divorce and separation, guilt and shame, and self-harm thoughts.
Melissa aims to create a calm space where people can talk through painful experiences and plan safer, healthier next steps. People meet with her by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging. Sessions follow a subscription model that can be canceled at any time, and all work is conducted in English in Mississippi.
How her approaches translate to online therapy
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on the person in front of the therapist. Melissa listens closely, reflects what she hears, and helps clients make their own choices. This approach can be helpful for people coping with anxiety, depression, self-esteem issues, and relationship stress.Solution-Focused Therapy looks for small, practical changes that move things forward. Sessions concentrate on concrete goals and steps clients can try between meetings, which is useful for work stress, communication problems, and parenting challenges.
Finding the right approach is part of the process. Melissa works collaboratively with clients to decide which methods fit their goals and preferences. She checks in regularly and adjusts plans based on what is working and what isn’t.
Online therapy with her is available by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video calls are good for deeper conversations and visual cues. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is low or a quick check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging suit short updates or ongoing support between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into school schedules, work breaks, or busy family routines.
Questions people ask
What common concerns does she help with?
What is her therapy style like?
How much experience does she have?
What credentials and location are on record?
Which languages are offered and can international clients connect?
What session formats are available?
How does payment and cost work?
How do I begin working with her?
What this counselor works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Anger management
Also listed
- ADHD
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Intimacy-related issues
- Life purpose
- Money and financial issues
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 14 years
- Licensed
- Mississippi
- Languages
- English