01 · Who Melanie works with

Melanie works with stress, Anxiety, addictions and relationship issues

Melanie lists 12 specialisms and 8 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Melanie chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Melanie's own words

What Melanie says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

Hi! My name is Melanie. I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Neuroscience at University of Delaware and my Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling at SUNY College at Old Westbury. I have experience with adults, teenagers, children, Veterans, substance users, and the developmentally disabled. I also have a lot of experience with relationship counseling as it is a prevalent factor among most populations. I conduct group and individual therapy in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

In my undergraduate studies, I conducted extensive research with PTSD in rats. This was an eye-opening experience as it taught me about the human stress reaction and how humans with trauma function differently from humans without trauma due to lacking the ability to extinguish fear. I use this in my practice as I currently work in an inpatient psychiatric setting with patients who have extreme trauma history. My graduate studies focused on the psychodynamic approach to counseling in which I learned about human development, family context, relationships, and transference/countertransference. I utilize this approach when working with clients as it helps me to understand the individuality if my clients based on their personal development.

I use a myriad of theoretical approaches in my practice as I believe that all client's circumstances and personalities are different and treatment should be personalized. I focus on motivational interviewing in my practice as it is goal oriented and encourages a client toward change-talk and change-action. I use person-centered therapy once the client presents as motivated, but needs support and encouragement. I am here to listen without judgement and guide you through your own transitional journey. I am a firm believer of solution focused therapy in which a client is encouraged to focus on the present and future. I love to utilize CBT for a motivated client in order to deconstruct their thoughts/feelings/behaviors and identify the interrelationship between these thoughts/feelings/behaviors. One way to work on this is by teaching about faulty thinking errors/distortions and offering some positive coping skills to restructure thinking. This approach is best for clients who are willing to take their counseling further by completing homework, thought logs, charts, etc.

Lastly, I emphasize the need for self-care in my clients. I am personable and friendly in my practice and I owe this to having balance in my life. When I am not counseling, I practice yoga, ride my bike, see my friends or family, play with my dog, go outside, or go shopping. I encourage all clients to utilize self-care and do what makes them feel happy and free.

Melanie Giarratano, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Melanie works

The 7 approaches Melanie lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Melanie lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Melanie's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Melanie runs a session.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian

The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.

Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT

Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.

Dialectical Behaviour TherapyDBT

A structured skills-led adaptation of CBT built around holding two things at once: accepting yourself as you are and working to change. Teaches concrete skills for distress tolerance, emotion regulation and relationships. Developed for people whose feelings arrive at overwhelming intensity, and strongest-evidenced there.

Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT

Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.

Motivational InterviewingMI

A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Works on the assumption that current patterns - in relationships, at work, in how you treat yourself - have a history, and that seeing the history loosens the pattern. Less structured than CBT, usually longer, and more interested in what comes up unbidden than in a weekly agenda.

Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT

Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Melanie practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Melanie's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Melanie at this point.

2. Naming Melanie specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Melanie is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Melanie.

3. If the caseload is full

   You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

4. The first conversation

   A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

5. If the fit is wrong

   Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

3 questions worth asking Melanie

Built from what Melanie actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Melanie's - Melanie has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Client-Centred Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

  Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

• “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

  Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

• “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

  On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LCMHC

Licensed in

New York

Licence

UT LCMHC 12912533-6004, NY LMHC 009995

Licence number

009995

Licence expires

30 Nov 2027

NPI

1538793864

Years in practice

4

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Melanie's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 9 Oct 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Melanie. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.