Melissa Briggs is a Registered Dance/Movement Therapist (R-DMT) and Associate Professional Clinical Counselor (APCC). She is a member of the American Dance Therapy Association. Melissa holds a B.F.A. in Contemporary Dance Performance with a Ballet emphasis from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where she graduated May 2020, summa cum laude. Melissa received her M.A. from Lesley University in May 2022, in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a specialization in Dance/Movement Therapy. She is working towards Board Certification in Dance/Movement Therapy under the supervision of a Board-Certified Dance/Movement Therapist and also works under a licensed clinical mental health professional as she prepares for her full clinical mental health license. Melissa previously worked with adolescents and individuals with special needs in partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs, in the areas of trauma, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders, most of which included dual diagnoses.

Melissa is devoted to using Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) in conjunction with other expressive and integrative therapies, to promote healing and positive self-transformation to overcome and manage trauma, anxiety, depression, eating disorders and other challenges. DMT is the psychotherapeutic use of movement to promote the emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration of each individual, for the purpose of improving health, self-esteem, body-image, and well-being. Melissa’s theoretical framework is based upon Chacian DMT, and she uses the Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) to support, observe, assess, and offer treatment with appropriate interventions in her DMT practice. Melissa also uses Carl Rogers’ Person-Centered Therapy (PCT) theories, along with psychological approaches including Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and incorporates Mindfulness, Psychoanalytic Theory, Adlerian Psychology, Humanistic Psychology,Jungian Psychotherapy, and Relational Therapy techniques in her multi-dimensional approach to treatment. Melissa believes that building a therapeutic relationship tailored to meet the needs of the moment is a key factor for enhancing insight and growth in every individual. In addition to her therapeutic work, Melissa dances with The Realm Company, a contemporary ballet company based in Santa Monica, CA. Melissa also holds a Ballet Teaching Certification from The Royal Academy of Dance in London and has been a dancer from a young age as well as a dance teacher. In her spare time, Melissa enjoys dance, yoga, hiking, drinking matcha tea, and spending time with family and friends.

*Supervised by Matthew Porter, M.A., LMFT (42042)
*Supervised by Audrey LaVallée, LMHC, BC-DMT(1171)