Hi, I’m Melissa Wohlers, LCSW.

(she/her/hers)

You may understand what is happening in your life and still find yourself caught in worry, self-doubt, painful relationship patterns, or reactions that feel difficult to change. Therapy can help you understand these experiences and find more flexibility in how you respond.

Melissa is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a particular focus on OCD, anxiety, trauma, and eating disorders. Melissa can also help with depression, life stage adjustment, ADHD, and learning to understand family of origin patterns and how they might be influencing your current circumstances. She supports clients navigating boundaries, relationship stress, perfectionism, and the pressure to take care of everyone around them.

Melissa’s approach is compassionate, collaborative, and practical. Together, she explores how your experiences have shaped the ways you cope, recognize patterns that may be keeping you stuck, and build skills that support meaningful change. Melissa draws from approaches including Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), EMDR, and supportive therapy. Her job is tailoring the work to your needs and goals. Goals are set and reviewed four times per year to ensure that you are getting what you want out of therapy.

Melissa aims to create a space where you can speak openly, feel understood, and explore difficult things at a manageable pace. Her goal is to help you develop a greater trust in yourself and more freedom to live in ways that matter to you. Life can be challenging and working together, she can help assess those challenges and help you gain a great ability to create the life you want. She loves what they do and is excited to get to know you and the challenges you face.

What made you decide to go into this specialty?

I was drawn to this work because of a deep interest in understanding people at a meaningful level, especially within the context of their relationships. Over time, I noticed how often people feel stuck in patterns they don’t fully understand, particularly in close relationships, and how much pain and disconnection that can create. I wanted to help people slow down and make sense of those patterns in a way that feels compassionate and empowering.

I also value helping clients move beyond just talking about problems and instead experience real emotional shifts in session. Seeing clients gain clarity, feel more secure, and relate to themselves and others differently is what continues to motivate and inspire my work.

Education & Trainings:

  • Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology from Arizona State University, 1997

  • Master’s Degree in Social Work from Augsburg University, Twin Cities 2009

  • Ongoing training and focus in:

    • EMDR 

    • Internal Family Systems (IFS) Level 1 trained

    • Inference-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT) for OCD 

    • Trauma-informed care

    • Attachment-based approaches

    • Experiential and process-oriented therapy

Specialties:

  • Relationship Issues and Couples Work

  • Attachment and Emotional Regulation

  • Anxiety Disorders/OCD

  • Depressive Disorders

  • Trauma and Relational Trauma

  • Family Systems

  • Boundary Setting and Interpersonal Dynamics

  • Life Transitions and Stress

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