About Melody
Dr. Melody Madaris is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) with 14 years of clinical and administrative experience in Illinois.
Background and approach
She draws on a range of evidence-informed methods to address trauma, substance use, mood disorders, and related concerns, and she emphasizes practical steps clients can take to change the parts of life that cause distress.
Her background includes oversight of co-occurring disorders programs and residential and outpatient treatment services, giving her a strong understanding of how mental health and addiction interact. That administrative role has involved directing a residential treatment facility, six outpatient co-occurring programs, a 24-hour mobile crisis team, an employee assistance program, and substance abuse prevention and mental health awareness initiatives.
Clinically, she works with people facing addiction, bipolar disorder, depression, grief, eating and body image issues, anger, ADHD, compassion fatigue, and challenges tied to career and life transitions. Dr.
Madaris seeks to build a trusting, relatable connection and to help clients identify where change is needed, set realistic goals, and sustain those changes over time. She accepts clients in English and is available to international clients who wish to work with her.
Evidence-Informed Approaches for Online Care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify their values and take committed action toward a meaningful life despite painful feelings, which can be useful for issues like depression, grief, and addiction. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thought and behavior patterns to reduce symptoms of mood disorders, anxiety, and compulsive behaviors. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes a respectful, nonjudgmental relationship, allowing clients to explore concerns at their own pace while the therapist offers empathy and support.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will work with each person to consider goals, preferences, and the specific challenges they bring, adjusting techniques and combining methods to fit the individual's needs rather than relying on a single fixed method.
Online sessions by video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging provide flexibility for scheduling and for choosing the format that feels most comfortable. These options make it easier to maintain continuity of care while balancing work, family, and other commitments, and they allow licensed professionals to deliver the same therapeutic tools and skills in a format that fits modern life.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Addictions
- Trauma and abuse
- Bipolar disorder
Also works with
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- First responder issues
- Grief
- HIV / AIDS
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self esteem
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Existential Therapy
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Gottman Method
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Experience
- 14 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English