Melissa Karatay
Counselor - LMHCa
At Karatay Counseling, I provide weekly individual counseling sessions. I work with individuals who are seeking to understand and integrate a traumatic past. I also provide services for individuals struggling with depression, anxiety, loss, adjustment issues, and recent trauma.
I incorporate intersectional feminist thought, as well as cultural and racial awareness, into my practice. As a practitioner and as an individual, I strive to understand the systems in which we all exist and how they have impacted an individual’s experiences and mental health.
Relational Therapy
I rely on attachment and person centered theories and approaches. These theories focus most highly on therapeutic relationship. The literature repeatedly shows that a positive relationship between a therapist and their client is the strongest predictor of positive experience and outcome (Lambert & Barley, 2001).
Evidence Based Therapy
We incorporate evidence based practices such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy skills (DBT) and EMDR into work with clients when useful and appropriate. The integration of CBT and DBT skills with an attachment approach provides a structure that meets clients on both practical and personal levels.
Trauma Therapy
I understand trauma and the effect it has on an individual holistically. Trauma effects all aspects of a person from their physical well-being to their emotional and mental experiences. While working with trauma, we incorporate a mind and body focused understanding of trauma alongside more traditional talk therapy approaches, which focus on the mental and emotional experiences.
Trauma and EMDR
I also use EMDR for individuals seeking relief from a variety of post traumatic symptoms. EMDR is a modality which allows us to access the memory itself, rather than just the content of the memory, and speed up the minds natural tendency towards healing. EMDR sessions are typically 90 minutes long.
Skills and Expertise
Abuse / Survivors of Abuse
Adjusting to Change / Life Transitions
Anxiety
Breakups
codependency-2
Commitment Issues
Coping Mechanisms
Communication Problems
Depression
Dissociation
Domestic Abuse
grief
Loss
Loss or Grief
Physical Abuse
Polyamory and Nonmonogamous Relationships
Relationship Issues
Self Esteem
Self-Harming
Sexual assault
Sexual Abuse
Trauma
Trauma and PTSD
Treatment Orientation
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
EMDR
Person Centered Therapy
Trauma Focused Therapy
Modality