Melissa Guarnaccia, LISW-CP, LCSW

Melissa Guarnaccia is a licensed social worker and psychotherapist with eleven years of clinical experience helping children, adolescents, and adults navigate anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, family conflict, parenting challenges, trauma, grief, and other life transitions. She blends evidence-based methods like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Solution-Focused Therapy with a relaxed, open-minded, and non-judgmental style while remaining action-oriented and focused on practical change.

Her background includes work in hospital settings, schools, and private practice, and she brings experience supporting families through parenting concerns as well as offering individual therapy across the lifespan. In addition to clinical services, she is a certified instructor in Parenting with Love and Logic and leads workshops in the community to help caregivers develop consistent, effective strategies.

Melissa holds the credentials LISW-CP and LCSW - LISW-CP denotes a Licensed Independent Social Worker for clinical practice and LCSW stands for Licensed Clinical Social Worker - and she is based in North Carolina. She earned a BA in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Outside of work she is married, is a mother of two boys, and shares her home with a pug named Mabel, with whom she and her family enjoy outdoor activities and travel.

Integrating Evidence-Based Approaches with Flexible Online Care

Melissa uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help clients clarify their values, accept difficult thoughts or feelings, and commit to actions that align with what matters most. ACT is useful for stress, anxiety, and situations where avoiding feelings gets in the way of living a meaningful life.

She also employs Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which focuses on identifying and shifting unhelpful thinking patterns and behaviors to reduce symptoms and improve daily functioning. CBT is effective for anxiety, depression, and many common emotional challenges.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Melissa works together with each client to determine which strategies fit their needs, goals, and preferences, and she adjusts interventions as progress unfolds.

Online therapy with Melissa offers practical flexibility - sessions can be scheduled as video calls or phone appointments, and she also offers live chat and text-based messaging for ongoing support between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives and to maintain continuity of care regardless of location within the therapist's service area.