Annie Melden, LMHC, CCTP-1
Licensed Mental Health Counselor & Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, Level 1
Wait list for new clients
Young adults | Adults | Older adults
Introduction
I'm Annie Melden (she/her), a Licensed Mental Health Counselor at Essential Insights Counseling Center. I work with young adults, adults, and older adults navigating anxiety, depression, chronic illness or medical concerns, difficult family relationships, trauma, and questions about identity or what they want from their lives. Together, we'll work to better understand how your experiences have shaped you, explore patterns that may be affecting you today, and help you move toward a life that feels more authentic and meaningful.
What I Can Help With
I work with clients facing a wide range of challenges. Some of the concerns I work with most often include:
Life meaning and purpose
Difficult family relationships and family-of-origin issues
Chronic illness, pain, and cancer
Anxiety and stress
Trauma and PTSD
Anger, irritability, and emotional reactivity
Overthinking and perfectionism
Self-esteem and self-confidence
Men’s issues
My Therapy Style
My therapy style is warm, compassionate, and insight-oriented. I strive to create a space where you can be fully yourself—without judgment or expectations about who you should be or how you should feel. I want to understand your experiences from your perspective and honor the knowledge you already have about yourself.
Together, we'll explore what's happening in your life now while also looking at how past experiences, relationships, family dynamics, or expectations may be influencing the way you see yourself and relate to others today. Through reflection and curiosity, I can help you recognize patterns, deepen your understanding of yourself, and consider what you may want to change.
I believe healing happens in relationships, so the connection we build is an important part of our work. I'll respond to what you need in each session, giving you space to explore while offering reflections and insights that can help you see your experiences in new ways.
Ultimately, therapy isn't about telling you who to be. It's about helping you understand yourself more fully so you can make choices that feel authentic and meaningful to you.
“If you can observe your own experience with a minimum of interference, and if you don't try to control what you experience, if you simply allow things to happen and you observe them, then you will be able to discover things about yourself that you did not know before. You can discover little pieces of the inner structures of your mind, the very things that make you who you are.”
― Ron Kurtz, Founder of the Hakomi Method
Therapy Approaches I Use
I draw from a variety of therapeutic approaches and tailor our work to your needs, goals, and what feels most helpful to you.
Psychodynamic Therapy — Explores how past experiences, relationships, emotions, and patterns outside of your immediate awareness may be influencing your life today.
Attachment-Based Therapy — Explores how early relationships and experiences may shape the way you connect with others, understand yourself, and navigate relationships today.
Feminist Therapy — Considers how relationships, culture, identity, social expectations, and systems can shape your experiences and how you understand yourself.
Existential Therapy — Creates space to explore questions of identity, meaning, purpose, choice, and how you want to live your life.
Relational Therapy — Looks at how relationships have shaped you and uses the therapeutic relationship as a space for greater understanding, connection, and growth.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)— Helps you make room for difficult thoughts and feelings while taking steps toward what matters most to you.
Trauma-Informed Care— Approaches therapy with an understanding of how trauma can affect you while prioritizing safety, choice, trust, and your pace
Communities I Serve
These are some of the communities I have experience supporting, but you don’t need to identify with one of them to work with me. I welcome clients from a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences.
LGBTQIA+ individuals — Affirming support that honors the full range of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Non-binary, transgender, and gender-expansive individuals — Space to explore identity and experience without judgment or assumption.
People living with chronic illness, chronic pain or cancer — Support for the emotional impact of illness, pain, uncertainty, changing roles, and changes in how you see yourself or your future.
Healthcare professionals — Support for stress, burnout, boundaries, difficult experiences, and the emotional demands of caring for others.
People navigating religious, faith, or spiritual transitions — Space to explore changing beliefs, questions of meaning, and how those changes may affect your identity, relationships, and sense of self.
Education & Training
Master of Arts (MA) in Mental Health Counseling with a specialization in Holistic Studies, Lesley University (2023)
Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Massachusetts (License #10004716)
Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, Level 1
Pursuing advanced training and supervision in existential-psychodynamic approaches
A Bit About Me
I've always been curious about what makes people who they are, and being a therapist gives me a meaningful way to explore that alongside others. I believe healing happens in relationships, and I feel privileged to create the kind of genuine connection where people can feel seen, understood, and accepted as they are.
Outside of therapy, I slow down and reconnect with myself through yoga, watercolor painting, and spending time in my garden and in the woods. I believe joy is often found in the small, everyday moments we share with the people around us.
Rates & Scheduling
Insurances accepted: Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield/Anthem, Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan, Mass General Brigham Health Plan (commercial plans only), Medicare and most Medicare Advantage plans, Optum, and United Healthcare. Please visit our Insurance & Rates page for more information.
Rates: $185 per intake session; $170 per 55-minute therapy session
Schedule: Annie offers in-person and telehealth sessions Mondays through Thursdays. Evening appointments are offered on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Getting Started
If you're trying to better understand yourself, make sense of patterns from your past, or find meaning while navigating something difficult in your life, I may be a good fit for you. You can begin with a free 15-minute phone consultation with our intake coordinator, Jennifer, through our online scheduler. During that call, she'll learn a little about what's bringing you to therapy, answer your questions, and help determine whether I—or another therapist on our team—is the right fit.