Melissa Daoud, MA

Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist

Melissa is licensed as a licensed marriage and family therapist and completed her Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from Santa Clara University in 2017. As a member of a minority group, Melissa observed firsthand how the lack of culturally informed psychotherapy was a barrier to care. She chose to become a therapist to help fill this gap and create greater access to mental health care for people from all cultural backgrounds. Melissa’s approach to psychotherapy is integrative, as she believes the best therapy is tailored to the individual. She utilizes interventions from psychodynamic, attachment theory, family systems and evidence-based psychotherapies filtered through a multicultural lens that helps better meet the needs of the client. Specifically working with children in adolescents, she believes that working within the family system is key to helping get well and thrive.

In 2016, Melissa started her clinical training at Adolescent Counseling Services providing school-based therapy to children in Palo Alto and Menlo Park. Through her work at the Miri Center she provided educationally related mental health services (ERMHS) to diverse children and adolescents with individual education plans (IEPs) and 504 plans. 

In addition to her school counseling experience, Melissa has been providing outpatient psychotherapy since 2018. Melissa has extensive clinical experience with children, teens and their families, providing both individual and family therapy to address a wide variety of clinical issues such as anxiety disorders, mood disorders, ADHD, parent-child relationship issues, anger, school refusal, trauma, learning differences, various school issues and life transitions.

Education

  • MA, Counseling Psychology, Santa Clara University University
  • MA, Psychology, Emphasis in Research and Experimental Psychology, San José State University
  • BA, Psychology, Minor Biological Sciences, San Jose State University

Licenses

  • Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #119476

Professional Affiliations

  • California Association for Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT)
  • Bay Area Muslim Therapists