Melina Delis, LMFT

Melina earned her Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of San Diego. She completed her undergraduate degree in Business Marketing at the University of San Diego as well. Throughout her MFT career, Melina has worked in various settings across San Diego. This includes working with children and adolescents ranging from ages 10-18 and their families performing individual, group, and family therapy. She has worked in higher level of care settings in Partial Hospitalization Programs and Intensive Outpatient Programs for a hospital and private clinics helping high-risk adolescents. Melina also has former business experience running marketing teams in various industries. Now Melina is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Marketing Consultant in private practice.

For all of Melina’s career as an MFT, she has worked with high-risk children and teens ages 10-18 and their families. She has experience working in higher level care, crisis, and private practice settings treating patients with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), trauma, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, suicidality, self-harm, substance use, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). She collaborates with psychiatrists, primary care physicians, other mental health professionals, educators, and families to coordinate care. In clinical work, Melina makes use of an integrative, client-centered approach and draws on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), solution-focused therapy (SFT), dialectic behavioral therapy (DBT), exposure and response therapy (ERP), mindfulness tools, and motivational interviewing. Melina is specifically trained in ERP to treat patients suffering with OCD and in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) by EMDR International Association (EMDRIA).

Melina’s therapeutic philosophy centers around meeting clients where they are at. Melina takes a nondirective approach of not telling people what to do but rather supporting them in their decisions. Clients are received with genuine care, kindness, and compassion. She prioritizes a supportive space that honors each person’s unique strengths, values, and identities. She also believes everything is connected and the importance of the mind-body connection.

Outside of work in her free time you can find Melina practicing pilates, being outdoors, traveling, skiing, and spending time with family, friends, and animals.