Dr. Melissa Chovan

Dr. Melissa Chovan is an individual and family therapist who brings 19 years of experience in the broader mental health field and 13 years practicing as a therapist. She is based in Alabama and holds professional licenses to practice counseling in both Illinois and Georgia, explained here as licensure to provide clinical counseling in those states.

Her clinical experience spans a wide range of concerns, including generalized anxiety disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, PTSD, parenting challenges, domestic violence, sexual assault, and other trauma-related issues. She also has some experience working with gender dysphoria.

Dr. Chovan has worked in diverse settings that include domestic violence and sexual assault services, programs for at-risk youth such as alternative education and a residential program, therapy for child protective services cases, community mental health, state prison settings, private practice, and both online and in-person teaching.

She is focusing her practice toward trauma specialization and, in the past year, learned Brainspotting, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Accelerated Response Therapy, and she is pursuing certification in each of these approaches. In addition to trauma-informed methods, she uses a variety of therapeutic tools such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing, reality therapy, family systems therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).

Her therapy style is warm, respectful, and interactive, and she views treatment as individualized to each person’s needs. She emphasizes hope, empowerment, a strong therapeutic relationship, and client education as central to effective work. Those who want to be heard, learn, and work toward self-improvement can expect her support and assistance, and she looks forward to meeting prospective clients.