Melanie Fikse , LPCC

Melanie Fikse is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) in California with 12 years of clinical experience supporting adults through a wide range of emotional and life challenges. She practices from a trauma-informed, client-centered, and strength-based perspective, helping people navigate stress, anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, bipolar disorder, personality concerns, addictions, relationship and family difficulties, and issues related to self-esteem and coping with life changes.

Trained at New York University where she earned a master’s degree, Melanie began her career providing therapy in a community mental health clinic serving underserved populations in New York City. She later relocated to California and has worked for many years in a rural setting, where she draws on the calm of natural surroundings to inform her work. Her approach blends practical skills with deep empathy; she uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, trauma-focused methods, EMDR, psychodynamic techniques, motivational interviewing, and mindfulness practices as appropriate to each person’s needs.

Melanie is allied with the LGBTQ community and is comfortable working with significant trauma histories. She aims to create a collaborative therapeutic relationship that highlights clients’ strengths and builds practical strategies for managing symptoms and improving daily functioning. She values the process of hearing each person’s story and supporting growth and healing over time.

Evidence-Informed Approaches and Online Care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters most to them and learn practical ways to move toward those values, even when painful thoughts or feelings are present. It is often used for anxiety, depression, stress, and life transitions.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and shifting unhelpful thinking patterns and behaviors. CBT offers concrete tools for managing symptoms related to anxiety, mood disorders, and problematic coping strategies.

Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes a collaborative, nonjudgmental relationship in which the therapist listens deeply and supports each person’s own process of discovery and growth. This approach can be especially helpful for building self-compassion, navigating relationship challenges, and processing difficult emotions.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Melanie works collaboratively with clients and licensed professionals to tailor methods to individual needs, goals, and preferences, and she adjusts strategies over time as progress and priorities evolve.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility - sessions can take place by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging - which makes it easier to fit care into busy schedules and to access support from different locations. These options allow therapists and clients to maintain continuity of care and to choose the format that feels most comfortable and effective for the work ahead.