About Melanie
Melanie Roum is a licensed clinical social worker who focuses on practical, down-to-earth support. She draws on fifteen years of experience to help people facing stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, and substance concerns. Melanie emphasizes strengths and small, achievable steps to make life feel more manageable.
She uses a mix of approaches that match each person’s needs. Those include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing.
Background and approach
Sessions often center on learning new skills, noticing unhelpful patterns, and experimenting with different ways to respond to stress. Melanie pays attention to how family history, relationships, and life transitions shape current struggles. She works with issues like grief, parenting strain, communication problems, and blended family stress.
She also addresses long-term challenges such as chronic illness, co-occurring conditions, and addiction-related concerns. Her style is supportive and straightforward. Clients can expect clear goals, practical tools, and a focus on what matters most to them.
Melanie respects each person’s values and helps them move toward a life that fits those values. Sessions are offered in English from Louisiana. The therapist holds a Louisiana LCSW and a Virginia LCSW.
Practical steps for starting therapy include a brief matching questionnaire and scheduling a time that fits the client’s routine.
Evidence-informed approaches for online care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters to them and take small actions that match those values. It is useful for anxiety, stress, and life transitions because it focuses on meaningful goals rather than only symptom reduction. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) teaches practical skills for changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. It is often used for anxiety, depression, and mood shifts by breaking problems into manageable steps. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) offers concrete skills for managing intense emotions and improving relationships, drawing on mindfulness, distress tolerance, and emotion regulation techniques.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about their goals, try different strategies, and adjust plans based on what helps. Clients and therapist decide together which tools to use and how to pace the work.
Online therapy offers flexibility for busy lives. Video calls allow face-to-face interaction when a deeper conversation is needed. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is low or a shorter check-in fits a break at work. Live chat and text messaging provide convenient ways to exchange quick updates, practice skills between sessions, or check in on progress. These options help people fit therapy into their routine while using the approaches that suit their needs.
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does Melanie commonly address?
What therapeutic style can I expect in sessions?
How much clinical experience does the therapist have?
What are the therapist's credentials and where are they based?
In which languages are sessions offered?
What session formats are available?
How is cost handled for sessions?
How do I begin the process of working together?
Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 15 years
- Licensed
- Louisiana, Virginia
- Languages
- English