About

Melissa Maxwell, LCSW

Approach

My approach to therapy is strongly influenced by the belief that we all possess the innate capacity for connection, emotional healing and personal growth. In the context of an attuned and trusting therapeutic relationship, there is the opportunity for great transformation. Throughout our work together, I will endeavor to create an environment of safety and connection that frees you to develop a non-judgmental curiosity about your emotional experiences and to better understand the messages your feelings are communicating to you. My counseling style is interactive, collaborative and gently challenging. I consider it a privilege to work with clients who invite me to support them in expanding into their most authentic, confident selves.

Bio

Melissa Maxwell is a licensed clinical social worker who works with adolescents, adults and couples. She has a Master of Social Work degree from NYU School of Social Work and currently holds her clinical licensure in both North Carolina and New York states.

Melissa has extensive post-graduate training in relational psychodynamic therapy as well as experiential therapies including AEDP (Level 3), ISTDP, Focusing and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). She has completed multiple core trainings in AEDP and currently participates in weekly supervision with an expert in AEDP/ISTDP. She also incorporates mindfulness skills, and body-oriented awareness in her psychotherapy practice.

Melissa has successfully worked with clients addressing anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma and abuse, eating and body image concerns, relationships and sexuality, identity exploration, chronic illness, grief and loss, work-life balance, and transitioning to parenthood. Melissa has a special expertise in working with clients dealing with high-risk pregnancies, miscarriages and fertility-related issues.

Prior to establishing Resilience and Change Counseling, PLLC in Durham, Melissa worked in private practice in New York City. She also served for several years as the Clinical Manager of NYU’s Counseling and Wellness Services where she coordinated and provided clinical services to undergraduate and graduate students throughout NYU’s global community. During her tenure, she co-founded the Mindfulness Initiative, whose mission included integrating the instruction and practice of mindfulness into the services provided by Counseling and Student Health Services while promoting compassion, well-being and academic success. She also developed and implemented a biofeedback program for clinical use, in addition to outreach initiatives designed to engage populations that traditionally underutilize mental health services.

Melissa served as adjunct faculty at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development in the Department of Applied Psychology where she co-taught a course on College Mental Health. She has presented extensively on topics including Assessing Suicidal Risk, Suicide Prevention in the College Population, Crisis Intervention, College Mental Health, Mindfulness, Stress Management, and Working with Survivors of Sexual Assault. She has also served on a task force to address sexual assault in the college age population for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Melissa is immersed in the joys and challenges of parenting her young children. She is a practitioner of yoga and meditation, as well as being an accomplished metalsmith. She enjoys bringing her sense of curiosity and creativity to her work as a therapist.

Jeff Crumbliss, LCSW

Approach

I am repeatedly moved by my clients’ stories of strength and feel honored to collaborate with them in developing goals, creating solutions, and finding solace in what are sometimes the most difficult experiences one can face. The process of therapy can be deeply gratifying, although this depends largely on the quality of the relationship with the therapist. I value the importance of the therapist being invested, accessible, and straightforward coupled with a depth of knowledge and experience. Together we will work to reach your goals and make your experience fulfilling. Ultimately, when faced with challenges, you become more adept at accessing your inner resources and using new skills that you will develop through our work together.

Bio

Jeff Crumbliss is a licensed clinical social worker who works with individuals, couples, and families with children of all ages. He has a Master of Social Work degree from NYU School of Social Work and currently holds his clinical licensure in both North Carolina and New York states. Jeff has extensive post-graduate training in Family Systems Theory from the renowned Ackerman Institute for the Family, the Minuchin Center for the Family, and the NYU Child Study Center. Jeff also has training in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), and Trauma Systems Treatment (TST), and further integrates methods from complementary relational psychotherapy models into his work. Experience in these models allows Jeff to draw from a variety of methods with which to focus on each individual’s specific symptoms, yielding faster, longer lasting results.

Jeff currently holds a faculty appointment in the Duke University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, where he provides live supervision for child psychiatry post-doctoral fellows, psychiatry residents, and psychology interns in the Family Studies Program. He previously held an academic appointment in the Columbia University School of Social Work supervising social work interns, while serving as Director of Social Work Internship Training at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City.

Jeff has years of experience assisting clients in significantly reducing their experience of anxiety and depression, improving their coping with ADHD, healing from various traumas throughout the lifecycle, increasing relationship satisfaction, and successfully negotiating family planning, adoption, and infertility. He has an expertise in working with the families of children and adolescents with significant behavioral difficulties.

Prior to establishing Resilience and Change Counseling, PLLC in Durham, along with Melissa Maxwell, Jeff had a successful private practice in New York City for several years. He also served as the Director of the Home Based Crisis Intervention Program in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Bellevue Hospital Center. This program provided short-term family therapy to a socioeconomically and ethnically diverse clientele in which the child or adolescent was displaying severe behavioral problems.

Jeff is a parent of two, a husband, a musician and a cyclist who appreciates the importance of balancing work and family. Jeff is a native of Durham and is also a Board Certified Music Therapist.