Melissa Hurt, LICSW
Compassionate social worker helping people manage life's stressors
Explore online therapy optionsWorks with
- Anger
- Stress, Anxiety
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Depression
How Melissa works
Practical facts
- Credentials
- LICSW
- Licensed in
- Minnesota
- Years in practice
- 3
- Languages
- English
- Session format
- Online, through our partner platform
About Melissa
Melissa Hurt is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) based in Minnesota. She draws on a social work background and clinical practice to help people find more peace, stability, or joy. Melissa aims to meet people where they are and figure out practical next steps together.
She earned a Master of Social Work and moved from macro-focused work into clinical practice. That combination means she pays attention to how systems - like culture, institutions, and family patterns - shape daily life.
Background and approach
She brings that context into conversations without letting it drown out individual needs. Much of her recent work has been in disability services, supporting teams of social workers and staying close to the issues people face day to day. She describes her style as compassionate and strengths-focused, and she looks for creative alternatives when usual strategies stall.
Melissa also has experience with young college professionals and with the military-connected community, drawing on personal experience as a long-term military spouse. She often talks with people about relationship patterns and the realities of long-term partnerships and parenting. Her clinical approach blends Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Emotionally-Focused Therapy and practical Cognitive Behavioral Therapy tools.
Mindfulness and self-care are woven into sessions, and she works collaboratively to find what actually helps each person move forward. She positions herself as an honest, compassionate partner in change who aims to be a steady supporter and cheerleader through life's transitions.
What Melissa works with
Everything Melissa lists, in the therapist's own terms. Anger is the reason this directory exists; the rest tells you what usually sits alongside it in Melissa's practice.
- Stress, Anxiety
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Depression
- Addictions
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Money and financial issues
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Melissa lists
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
How Melissa adapts ACT, EFT, and CBT for online work
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify values and take small actions that match those values. It’s useful for stress, anxiety, and anger when someone wants concrete steps to live more consistently with what matters to them.Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) focuses on understanding and shifting how emotions and attachment patterns show up in relationships. It can help when emotion cycles or communication patterns keep causing pain or distance.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at unhelpful thoughts and behaviors and tests small experiments to change them. It’s practical for mood, worry, and problem-solving in daily life.
Finding the right mix is collaborative. Melissa will talk about goals, try approaches, and adjust based on what feels useful. She partners with each person to choose strategies that match their needs and preferences rather than forcing a single method.
Online formats offer flexibility and different ways to stay connected. Video calls are close to in-person sessions and are good for deeper therapeutic work. Phone sessions can fit into a lunch break or be easier when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text-based messaging work well for short check-ins, homework guidance, or when someone prefers typed communication. These options make it easier to keep momentum between sessions and fit therapy into a busy life.
Questions people ask about Melissa
What kinds of problems does she help with?
She helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, anger, grief, trauma, addictions, relationship and intimacy concerns, parenting strains, and career or life-change challenges.
How would you describe her therapy style?
Her style is compassionate and strengths-focused with practical tools. She uses a mix of mindfulness, emotion-focused talk, and behavior-based strategies to solve immediate problems.
What is her professional background?
She holds a Master of Social Work and has three years of clinical experience, plus many years working in disability services supporting teams of social workers.
Where is she licensed and based?
She is a Minnesota LICSW, which stands for Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, and practices from Minnesota.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can international clients work together?
She is not accepting international clients at this time.
What session formats are available?
Sessions can be conducted by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different schedules and preferences.
How does the subscription and getting started work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability and uses a subscription that can be canceled at any time; to begin, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.