About Melody
Dr. Melody Madaris offers straightforward, practical counseling grounded in evidence-based methods. She is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) with 14 years of experience addressing trauma, substance use, bipolar disorder, and related challenges.
Her approach centers on building trust and helping people take steps toward real change. She draws on therapies that teach skills and build insight. Clients learn tools to manage mood swings, reduce substance use, handle grief, and cope with crisis situations.
Background and approach
Sessions focus on clear goals and actions that fit daily life. Outside of one-on-one work, she manages programs in Illinois that serve people with co-occurring mental health and substance use concerns. That administrative experience informs how she structures treatment plans and coordinates care when multiple services are involved.
Her style is practical and direct. She helps people identify the behaviors and routines that get in the way, then practices small changes together. She also supports people dealing with eating and body-image struggles, process addictions, and work-related compassion fatigue.
She uses a mix of approaches - including cognitive strategies, acceptance-based ideas, and skills for emotional regulation - so the work can be tailored to each person's needs. Sessions move at a realistic pace and aim for steady progress. Dr.
Madaris offers therapy in English and is available to work with clients in and outside the United States. Online session options include video calls, phone, live chat, and text messaging.
How evidence-based approaches translate to online care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on helping people clarify values and commit to meaningful actions, even when difficult thoughts or feelings are present. It is useful for mood issues, grief, and making behavior changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) teaches practical skills to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, which can help with depression, anxiety, eating concerns, and process addictions. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) provides tools for emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness, and it is helpful for managing strong emotions and impulsive behavior.Finding the right approach is part of the therapy process. The therapist works collaboratively with each person to identify goals, try methods that fit those goals, and adjust as needed. Clients and the therapist decide together which strategies to emphasize, so the work feels relevant and doable.
Online sessions are offered via video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to match different needs. Video is useful when visual cues and face-to-face interaction help the work, while phone calls take less bandwidth and can be easier during a busy day. Live chat and text are practical for shorter check-ins, skill practice, or when writing feels more comfortable. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a varied schedule and daily life.
Questions people ask
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What this counselor works with
Most often
- Addictions
- Trauma and abuse
- Bipolar disorder
Also listed
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- First responder issues
- Grief
- HIV / AIDS
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self esteem
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Existential Therapy
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Gottman Method
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Experience
- 14 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English