Melissa Tucker - LMHCA | Co-Director

Therapeutic Work

I graduated with a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from University of Hawaii Hilo. Starting in 2014, I worked as a crisis mobile responder for youth assessing suicidal intent, mental health concerns and provided referrals, including hospitalization. Concurrently, I worked for a private substance abuse clinic as an intern, while completing a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor certification, and as the Clinical Supervisor and program development. Living in Hawaii for 10 years helped me to begin to understand the experiences of those who are bicultural, immigrants, and multiracial. I do my best to honor and reflect the individual experiences of each of my clients with the intention of allowing them to heal themselves.

I completed Levels I and II of EMDR training, with world renowned trainers, and was an active member of a play therapy supervision group for over 3 years. I studied substance abuse treatment in Hawaii for 5 years and in Brazil for 7 months. I returned to Hawaii to work as the clinical supervisor of a parenting organization providing counseling to families in the foster care system to help prevent/reunify families, through counseling and parenting education.

After moving to Washington in 2019, I began providing private counseling, coaching and training.

I am trained in Person-Centered, Motivational Interviewing, RO-DBT, CBT/TF-CBT for adults and youth, ACT, REBT, DBT, EMDR (working on certification), Behavioral Activation, expressive arts therapy, mindfulness, and parenting education.

In my free time I love to travel, hike, and have several hobbies such as dancing, drumming, playing ukulele, singing, and being crafty. I lived all over the United States and traveled to several countries. My experiences immersing myself in other cultures helped me reflect on my own personal growth and develop a profound curiosity and empathy. I am an avid reader of both fiction and nonfiction, studying history, economics, and philosophy. I also enjoy learning languages such as Portuguese, Spanish and Korean. I am passionate about life and enjoy experiencing new things, which always improves the quality of my life.