Services
Peer support
Mel works alongside ProjectLETS in their mission to utilize and prioritize lived experience to provide peer support, centering the goals of community care, mutual aid, and non-hierarchical collaboration and provides peer mental health advocacy nationally. They also provide independent life coaching and peer support services available for a sliding scale fee. Please book a consultation or email if you’re interested in working together outside of ProjectLETS!
They bring ten years of experience in the field of psychology and care work and can confidently and expertly help folks to navigate Medicaid, Medicare, SSDI, and other government services. If you are interested in becoming a peer support client, please contact ProjectLETS directly.
Therapeutic support & process
Mel is an AMFT at The Relational Center under supervision from Jami Winkel, LMFT (License #44036) providing slide-scale services to clients on the waitlist and full-fee services to individuals, couples, teens, and families. They also work at Inclusive Psychological Services under the supervision of Dr. Jose Guerra, LMFT, PsyD (License #32906) to individuals, couples, families, and teens, either through insurance or private pay. Their approach to therapy is non-hierarchical, trauma-informed, with a relational gestalt and narrative family therapy focus. They specialize in working with people who have trauma from the psychiatric system, teens and adults with complex PTSD, neurodivergent and Mad people of all ages, people who are chronically ill and Disabled, as well as couples and families who are are navigating these issues as well.
Community building & facilitation
For two years, Mel has been a facilitator for the ProjectLETS’ Psychiatric Survivor Clinic - open to anyone who has been harmed by psychiatry and psychiatric treatment. This space offers opportunities for community care and peer support, strategizing and discussion, skill-sharing, and co-reflecting in closed clinic cohorts that meet for 2 hours every other week.
Cohorts for the clinic will be opening up again for registration in Fall of 2024 - stay tuned on ProjectLETS’ website and mailing list!
Psychoeducational & process group facilitation
Mel has been trained in creating both psychoeducational and skills-based workshops as well as running emotional and psychological process groups. In 2022, they worked with Orion Queer and offered a CPTSD recovery process group with an abolitionist approach, with abuse and trauma viewed through a non-punitive and non-pathologizing lens. Mel also facilitated the Gender Magic group at The Relational Center for 9 months. They are currently one of the project leads for ProjectLETS’ Psychiatric Survivor Clinic.
Workshop creation & facilitation
Mel is currently in the midst of creating their first workshop series, Mad Skills: Crisis Planning and Support, to help train abolitionists (clinicians, radical organizers, and peers alike) on how use material skills and survivor knowledge to prevent contact with police forces and involuntary care. A shortened version of this workshop was offered during ProjectLETS’ Anti-Carceral Approaches to Suicide 2023 series.
Consultancy, evaluation, & other projects
In early 2024, Mel and fii created Mad Consulting after working with the Los Angeles Spoonie Collective and the Petaluma chapter of the mobile crisis teams started by Ben Adam under the guidance of seasoned community psychologist and consultant, Gregor Sarkisian. Currently, Mad Consulting is working with IDHA to conduct an evaluation of their newly debuted Transformative Mental Health Core Curriculum. IDHA developed the Core Curriculum to help fill a critical gap in both mental health education and movement organizing. The Core Curriculum is currently open for registration!