About Melissa
Melissa Fisher-Goldman is a licensed clinical social worker who helps people manage stress, anxiety, grief, self-esteem struggles, and life transitions. She focuses on LGBT concerns and supports people working through loss, motivation, and confidence issues. Melissa speaks English and practices from California as an LCSW.
Melissa brings 21 years of clinical experience to each session. She starts by listening to a person’s story and identifying what gets in the way of feeling better.
Background and approach
Sessions aim to reduce negative thinking and self-doubt while building practical skills for day-to-day life. Her style is direct and collaborative. She treats the client as the expert in their own life and helps them notice strengths they already have.
Work in sessions often focuses on small, doable steps that lead to clearer thinking and more energy for things that matter. Melissa has supported people with a wide range of concerns beyond the core areas, including adoption and foster care issues, aging and geriatric concerns, chronic illness and pain, fertility and fatherhood issues, blended family challenges, and care around HIV and cancer.
She also addresses topics such as eating and food-related struggles, gender dysphoria, and aspects of kink and alternative sexual culture. Therapy with Melissa typically combines practical strategies and reflective conversation. The goal is to reduce barriers like guilt, shame, and self-doubt so people can make choices that fit their values and goals.
She works with each person to shape an approach that fits their life.
Therapeutic approaches and online care
Melissa often uses evidence-based techniques that combine practical skill building with reflective work. One common focus is on cognitive strategies to notice and shift negative thinking patterns; this helps with anxiety, low confidence, and getting unstuck from self-doubt. Another area emphasizes coping and problem-solving skills for managing stress, grief, chronic illness, and life transitions; these skills are practical actions people can use between sessions.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will work with each person to identify which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences. Together they will try approaches, assess what helps, and adjust the plan over time.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video allows face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth is limited or for a simpler check-in. Live chat and text messaging support short check-ins, ongoing encouragement, and flexible scheduling. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and to keep working on goals between appointments.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Blended family issues
- Cancer
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Coping with life changes
- Divorce and separation
- Eating and food-related issues
- Family of origin issues
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Infidelity
- Life purpose
- Multicultural concerns
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Experience
- 21 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English