Melissa Upton, LPC

Melissa Upton is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Mississippi who helps people manage stress and anxiety. She also supports clients facing relationship strain, anger, low self-esteem, depression, trauma, parenting challenges, and career decisions. Melissa draws on many years of school counseling experience to offer calm, practical guidance.

She spent 25 years working with adolescents in the public school system and has 14 years of school counseling experience. This background shaped a straightforward style that focuses on real-life skills. Sessions tend to focus on problem-solving steps and clear goals rather than long academic explanations.

Melissa uses a client-centered approach that centers on each person’s needs and perspective. She also uses solution-focused techniques to identify small changes that lead to real progress. Together these methods aim to make therapy practical and easier to use in day-to-day life.

In sessions she often works on coping skills for anxiety, anger management, and ways to rebuild self-esteem. She applies career and academic tools such as the RIASEC model when people want help with career planning or school choices. Melissa emphasizes respect and compassion in every conversation.

Her way of working is conversational and goal-oriented. She encourages clients to build their own self-help habits between sessions. If someone wants straightforward support for stress, anxiety, life changes, or parenting concerns, Melissa offers an approach grounded in school-based experience and practical strategies.

How these approaches translate to online therapy

Client-centered therapy focuses on listening closely and following your lead so sessions reflect what matters most to you. This approach helps when someone needs a safe place to talk through stress, anxiety, relationship concerns, or feelings tied to trauma and parenting.

Solution-focused therapy zeroes in on small, achievable changes. It looks for strengths you already have and builds step-by-step plans for coping, decision-making, and improving everyday routines. This method can be useful for anger management, self-esteem work, and career or school planning.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with you about your goals and preferences, and together you will try methods that fit your needs. If something doesn’t work, adjustments are part of the plan so the work stays practical and relevant.

Session formats are not specified here, so please confirm current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life, such as by reducing travel time or allowing shorter check-ins during a lunch break. It can also let people focus on skills and homework between sessions so progress carries into everyday life.