Melissa Reyerson-Slifer, LISW, LCSW

Melissa Reyerson-Slifer is a licensed clinical social worker who helps people manage anxiety, stress, depression, and relationship struggles. She speaks plainly and listens first, creating space for people to talk about what is hardest. Her style aims to be steady and respectful to individual differences.

With five years of experience as a licensed clinician and more than a decade in mental health work, Melissa draws on practical methods to address everyday problems. She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify unhelpful thoughts and shift behaviors. She also uses Client-Centered approaches to follow each person’s pace and priorities.

Melissa often supports people coping with trauma and abuse, grief, self-esteem concerns, and intimacy-related issues. She also addresses specific challenges such as panic attacks, phobias, obsessive thoughts and compulsions, dissociation, and hoarding. Her work includes helping people facing life changes and mood conditions like bipolar disorder.

Sessions are conversational and goal-oriented. Melissa blends mindfulness and motivational interviewing to build skills and strengthen motivation for change. She helps people practice new responses between sessions so progress feels real and manageable.

Melissa works from California and holds the credentials LISW and LCSW. She conducts sessions in English and offers a range of online formats. Her approach centers on collaboration and realistic steps toward the changes people seek.

Approaches and online care that fit your life

Melissa uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice and change thinking patterns that worsen anxiety and depression. CBT focuses on practical exercises and small behavior changes that reduce symptoms and improve daily functioning.

She also uses Client-Centered Therapy, which centers on listening and following the person's goals. This approach helps people feel heard and guides the pace of work based on what matters most to them.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Melissa will discuss options and tailor methods to fit the person’s needs, goals, and preferences. Decisions about techniques and pacing are collaborative and reviewed as progress unfolds.

Online therapy offers flexibility for people with busy schedules or limited travel time. Video calls enable face-to-face conversation for deeper interaction, phone sessions can fit into a short break or when bandwidth is limited, and live chat or text-based messaging work well for quick check-ins or when writing feels easier than speaking. These options make it simpler to keep therapy consistent while adapting to daily life.