Melissa Rider (she/her) earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Florida in
2019 and her Master of Social Work from Louisiana State University in 2023. She completed her
social work internship at Pace Center for Girls where she provided trauma-informed counseling
services to students ages 12 to 18, and then worked with children, adolescents, and their families at a
community mental health agency for nearly three years. Prior to pursuing her social work education,
Melissa worked for 10 years as a licensed hair stylist, during which time she honed her active listening
skills and mentored newly graduated cosmetologists.
Melissa is trained in the following therapeutic modalities: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT),
dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), Mindfulness, Motivational Interviewing (MI), solution-focused
counseling, the transtheoretical model of change, and Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT). She has
experience working with clients on ADHD, ASD, OCD, ODD, and RAD challenges. Melissa is always
eager to learn new methods of practice and looks forward to expanding the ways in which she can
help clients increase their coping skills and quality of life. She approaches each therapeutic
interaction with a person-centered, person-in-environment lens in order to provide the individualized
and judgement-free counseling services every client deserves.
In her free time Melissa enjoys reading everything in front of her, adding to Wordle streaks with her
20-year-old son, napping with one of her three cats, and learning Japanese with her partner of 16
years. She also loves getting
