Dr. Melissa Riggs
Welcome!
Therapy takes courage. Being vulnerable and changing your life (even if it is for the better) can be downright terrifying. You probably have an idea of how you’d like your life to go but are confused about how to make that happen. Therapy can help with that! By better understanding your thoughts, feelings, and experiences from the past and present, you will gain new perspectives.
I am an active therapist, meaning that I will ask questions and point out patterns to help you get to the root of what really brought you into therapy. My aim is not to tell you what to do, but rather to help you listen to your own inner wisdom.
I enjoy helping couples and individuals who are struggling with their relationships. Sometimes people struggle with relationships with others, and sometimes their struggle is more internal. Healthy connection to others and to ourselves helps us have a more enriched life. We thrive when we feel truly seen and appreciated for who we are. Therefore, I use interpersonal therapy, an effective and research-backed approach, to explore and honor the importance of relationships in clients’ lives.
I use interpersonal therapy, an effective and research-backed approach, to explore and honor the importance of relationships in clients' lives.
I believe all humans have experienced trauma of some kind. Perhaps it is a “major” trauma that changes your life in the blink of an eye (like a serious car accident) or perhaps some would consider it to be “minor,” like financial stress or difficult parents. Regardless, these experiences matter and have an impact. I recognize this and provide evidence-based therapies like EMDR to help people recover from trauma.
Finally, my practice encompasses the mind-body connection, the powerful interactions between the mind and the body and how they inform our well-being. Mind-body skills can be used to help people cope more effectively with stress, experience deeper relaxation, and gain self-awareness and an improved outlook on life.
You and I will bring our unique skills and talents to therapy: you are the expert on you, and I have expertise on how to help people navigate life effectively. I believe most humans yearn for connection and to be truly known and accepted for who they are. Change is not easy, but it is easier with a therapist you trust to be honest, empathic, direct, and encouraging– but challenging, too. I strive to be this person and facilitate a truly meaningful therapy experience.
Humans yearn for connection and to be truly known and accepted for who they are.
The following quote sums up the guiding force in my professional and personal lives to this day:
Although love is what we really want, we’re often afraid of love without consciously knowing it, and so we may act both blind and deaf to love’s presence. Yet, as we help ourselves and let go of fear, we begin to experience a personal transformation. We start to see beyond our old reality…and we enter a state of clarity…. That (of) inner peace and love…To do this, we must refuse to be limited by the fearful past and future…We can choose to experience this instant as the only time there is and live a reality of now.
Gerald Jampolski (Love is Letting Go of Fear)
I hope this information gives you a sense of how therapy would be with me. Please reach out to me at (281) 509-1010 or info@embracetw.com. I would love to learn more about what you are needing and how I can support you.
