Melanie Reyes

Melanie Reyes is a California licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) with 12 years of clinical experience. She helps people who feel stuck by addressing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship strain, parenting concerns, trauma and abuse, and questions about life purpose. She also works with issues such as addiction, sleep problems, self-esteem, career doubts, and coping with big life changes.

Her sessions are grounded and direct. Melanie uses client-centered listening to understand what matters most to each person. She brings mindfulness practices to help people notice their thoughts and feelings. She also uses EMDR when trauma memories need a different route to processing.

In practical terms, Melanie will focus on what a person wants to change. She helps people develop clearer decisions, manage strong emotions, and create small, realistic steps forward. Sessions include talking, guided mindfulness exercises, and targeted interventions drawn from psychodynamic ideas and motivational interviewing.

Melanie works in English and Tagalog and practices in California. She has experience supporting people through adoption and foster-care issues, attachment and abandonment concerns, caregiver stress, chronic illness and pain, body image, and blended family dynamics. She also offers support around communication problems, commitment and control issues, and co-dependency patterns.

Her approach pairs listening with concrete tools. Clients who are unsure how to move forward will find a mix of reflective conversation and practical skills in sessions. To begin, people complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule a first session.

How Melanie applies approaches in online sessions

Melanie uses client-centered therapy to focus sessions on what the person finds most important. That approach emphasizes listening, reflecting back what is said, and helping people set practical goals for change. EMDR is used when trauma memories are causing ongoing distress; it involves guided attention techniques paired with processing to reduce the intensity of distressing memories. Mindfulness therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to help reduce reactivity and improve sleep and mood.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. Melanie discusses options with each person and adapts methods based on the client’s needs, goals, and preferences. The process is collaborative, with checking in about what feels helpful and adjusting over time.

The biography does not specify which session formats she offers online, so confirm current options before booking. Many people find online sessions easier to fit around work, caregiving, or medical needs because they can avoid travel and schedule shorter check-ins when needed. Others prefer sessions that allow guided exercises on camera or audio. Discussing practical needs early in the intake helps match approach and format to everyday life.