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she/her

Melissa Rivera
LMFT

Melissa Rivera avatar

High satisfaction rate with clients

Nice to meet you

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 8+ years of experience serving adults and couples in California. I provide couples and sex therapy, including infidelity recovery, ethical non-monogamy, and boundaries. I offer affirming care for LGBTQ+ individuals and couples. For established clients, I provide emotional support animal (ESA) documentation and letters of support for gender-affirming medical care. I treat anxiety, OCD (using ERP), perfectionism, self-esteem, burnout, workplace stress, chronic pain, and grief, including death, relationship loss, and animal loss with relevant homework between sessions.

About Melissa

Location

Virtual, California

Insurance Accepted

Aetna, Prime Health, Anthem Blue Cross of CA, Out-of-State BlueCard PPO, Blue Shield of California, Health Net

Communication Style

Affirming, Creative, Exploratory, Instructive, Open-minded

Focus areas

Animal Loss, Anxiety, Body Image, Burnout, Caregiver Burnout, Couples Therapy (2+ adults in session), Cultural Issues/Racial Stress, Depression, Family Conflict (1 adult in session), Grief, Individual Therapy, LGBTQ+, Life Transitions, OCD, Panic, Relationship Concerns (1 adult in session), Sleep, Stress, Trans+, Workplace Stress

Experienced with

BIPOC, Students, LGBTQ+

Years of Experience

8+
Quote left
I offer a collaborative, affirming space where you can build practical skills, strengthen your relationships, and move through life's challenges with greater confidence.

License number

#105924

Approaches

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
  • Couples [Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT)]
  • Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ERP or EXRP)
  • Harm Reduction
  • Internal Family Systems (IFS)
  • Motivational Interviewing
  • Solution-Focused
  • Strengths-Based

Languages Spoken

English

Education

BA - Liberal Studies, Emphases in Behavioral Sciences and Education, University of California, Riverside MA - Psychology, Phillips Graduate Institute Certified Sex Therapy Informed Professional Pet Loss Bereavement Specialist Certification, American Association of Veterinary State Boards

Interests

Outside of work, I enjoy vegan cooking and baking, dance, music (from punk, soul, Latin, and so much in between), cult classic movies, watercolor, ceramics, travel, and catching up with my queer community. I am a former cat lady, and now an amateur dog mom, to my rescue chihuahua-mix, SweetPea.

License details

Melissa Rivera,
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
#105924 (exp January 2028)