Melissa Baldwin, MS, NCC, APC, JD, MPH

Psychotherapist 

Welcome to our practice! It is good to see you. I am a huge believer in the power of psychotherapy and self-work, and I am looking forward to sharing that passion with you. With a diverse professional background and expertise in communication and negotiation, I invite young adults, adults, and couples into a safe, intentionally curated space to craft their own journey of healing and growth. As an integrative practitioner who primarily takes a person-centered approach, I collaborate with clients navigating life transitions, anxiety, depression, trauma, narcissistic abuse, grief and loss. I also facilitate and teach communication and skill building to individuals and couples.

I am a lifelong learner, and I bring a rich background of evidence-based therapies into our shared space that incorporate elements of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and narrative theory techniques. With my legal background, I have a more direct style and utilize gentle challenging and empowerment-based strategies, and I believe in the power of storytelling and rewriting our own stories. 

Relying on the fundamental principles of IFS, I believe that integration of each of our distinct parts is key to healing. I focus on acceptance and self-compassion work and teach distress tolerance and mindfulness techniques to my clients. I also facilitate opportunities for each client to rewrite their personal stories to liberate themselves from narratives they have adopted during their lives that are incongruent to their current beliefs and values.

In our shared space, we will focus on moving through life transitions, learning skills to facilitate more effective communication, processing grief and loss, managing life stressors, and acquiring and refining tools to better handle anxiety and depression. With a warm, supportive, and encouraging style, I want to accompany my clients on their journey of healing and personal growth while they navigate the in-betweens of life. I collaborate with my clients to reframe their narratives and adjust coping styles that may no longer be serving them. I strive to cultivate hope and positivity and inspire new ways of thinking, feeling, and being so that my clients learn that there are boundless opportunities for each of them to become their most true and authentic selves.

I am an outdoor enthusiast and offer walking and talking sessions to clients. There is power and healing in bonding with nature and utilizing breath as a vehicle of healing and calming balm, and movement is a form of meditation. I want to offer this modality to my clients and help them learn to use their untapped resources to help heal and personally transform themselves.

Credentials and Training

• MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Mercer University
• BA in Psychology from Emory University; MPH in Epidemiology from University of Miami School of Medicine; JD from University of Miami School of Law
• National Certified Counselor (NCC)
• Internal Family Systems Informed Practitioner – Healing through Compassionate Connection
• Trained in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
• Georgia Mandated Reporters Certified
• Stewards of Children Certified 
• Practicing under the supervision of Ashley Skidmore, LCSW

Professional Affiliations

• National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
• American Counseling Association (ACA)
• Licensed Professional Counselors Association of Georgia (LPCA-GA)
• Chi Sigma Iota Counseling Honor Society