Family Therapist
Melanie brings a wealth of clinical experience to Red Oak Recovery®. She moved to Asheville from Boston, MA in 2021 and began work as a Primary Therapist at Red Oak. She was drawn to Red Oak in large part due to the strong emphasis on integrating families into the recovery work, which was an aspect of treatment she noticed was missing in the community mental health and substance abuse treatment settings she had worked previously. After nearly two years as a Primary Therapist, Melanie transitioned to a Family Support Specialist position on the Red Oak clinical team. Prior to joining the clinical team at Red Oak, she worked as a behavioral health therapist for the homeless, runaway youth, and young adults (ages 14-24), many of which struggled with substance use as well as mental health challenges. Prior to living in Boston, Melanie lived in Burlington, VT for 11 years and worked with people in various stages of opioid addiction and recovery for 8 of those years. Her experience working in the addiction field has instilled an interest in continuing to reduce stigma, as she believes shame resulting from stigma around addiction hurts self-esteem and can increase barriers to seeking support around addressing addiction. This work also inspired her to support her clients developing a diverse tool kit of healthy coping resources in their pursuit of recovery.
Melanie understands the importance of fostering connection in combatting addiction and has learned that recovery is not a linear process. Her work experiences have shown her the value of treating addiction and mental health simultaneously. Melanie values presenting recovery options to individuals, as she believes there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to recovery. “I believe that people are deserving of support, compassion, and respect, wherever they are on the recovery spectrum,” says Melanie. “I have gained insight into the impact that environment has on addiction, and value Red Oak’s approach to including the family in the recovery process.”
Melanie is collaborative, supportive, curious, and loves to learn. As a Primary Therapist at Red Oak Recovery®, Melanie used a strengths-based, relational approach with her clients. She is trained in Dialectical Behavior therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). As a Family Therapist, Melanie uses an Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) lens. She is passionate about supporting families as they engage in ‘the parallel process’ while their loved ones are in treatment.
Melanie considers Washington, DC her hometown. She loves visiting family and friends there and traveling with her husband to his hometown of Miami. In her spare time, Melanie enjoys painting, playing with her Golden Doodle, hiking, practicing yoga, spending time outside, exploring new places, spending time with friends, trying new restaurants and new recipes at home. She loves exploring the culture and nature Asheville has to offer!