- Years in practice
- 14
- Credentials
- LPC
- Licensed in
- Louisiana
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Self esteem
- Focus
- Depression
About Melissa
Melissa Averett is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) based in Louisiana with 14 years of clinical experience. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, depression, addiction recovery, and trouble adjusting to life changes. She also supports people dealing with grief, trauma and abuse, parenting concerns, bipolar symptoms, ADHD, and relationship or family-related issues.
Before moving into outpatient counseling, she spent four years in a residential program supporting women recovering from addiction.
Background and approach
She then provided nine years of outpatient therapy for adults across a wide range of mental health concerns. That mix gives her a practical sense of early recovery and ongoing coping needs. Her style is warm and straightforward.
She uses client-centered methods to build trust and help people set clear goals. She pairs that with cognitive behavioral work to spot unhelpful thinking, challenge it, and try new ways of responding. In sessions she teaches skills such as setting healthy boundaries, improving self-esteem, weighing choices and consequences, and using assertive communication.
She also offers tools for managing anger, sleep problems, and compassion fatigue. The approach is hands-on and focused on everyday changes clients can practice between sessions. People who reach out can expect an empathic therapist who aims to be direct and supportive.
She works collaboratively on goals and helps tailor techniques to each person’s life and priorities.
What Melissa works with
Everything Melissa lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Melissa helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Self esteem
- Depression
- Coping with life changes
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Avoidant personality
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Phobias
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Visually impaired
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Melissa lists
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
How her approaches work online and in real life
Client-centered therapy is about building a respectful, accepting relationship where the person directs the pace and goals. In practice this means the therapist listens closely, reflects what she hears, and helps people name what matters most to them. This approach supports those who need a supportive space to sort through parenting pressures, grief, or life transitions.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on the link between thoughts, feelings, and actions. Sessions include identifying unhelpful thinking patterns, testing those thoughts, and trying small behavior changes to see what works. This method is useful for anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and changing reactions that get in the way of everyday life.
Finding the right way to work together is part of the process. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose which approach - or combination of approaches - fits their goals and day-to-day reality. That conversation includes looking at what feels manageable and what skills to practice between sessions.
Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is good for face-to-face conversation and teaching new skills. Phone sessions can be simpler when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging make it easier to fit brief updates or check-ins into a busy day. These options help people access consistent care while juggling parenting, work, and other responsibilities.
Questions people ask about Melissa
What concerns does she help with?
She helps adults with stress, anxiety, depression, addiction recovery, grief, trauma and abuse, parenting issues, anger, bipolar concerns, ADHD, and related relationship or family struggles.
How would you describe her therapy style?
Her style is warm and straightforward, using client-centered work to build rapport and clear goals, along with cognitive behavioral techniques for changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors.
What is her professional background?
She has 14 years of experience, including four years in a residential setting supporting women in addiction recovery and nine years providing outpatient counseling to adults.
What credentials and region are listed?
She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) practicing in Louisiana.
Which languages are supported and are international clients accepted?
Sessions are offered in English and international clients are not currently accepted.
What session formats are available?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to accommodate different preferences and schedules.
How is cost handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions are provided through a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin the process?
Begin by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to therapist availability.
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