Melissa Kaekel

I’ve been working as a counselor for over 15 years. My primary areas of focus are disability issues, workplace issues, and military/veteran issues. I have experience with: * Adjusting to a disability (recovering from accident, chronic pain, depression, unsure of what to do now) * Coping with changes caused by a disability (career change, change of work tasks, use of reasonable accommodations) * Workplace stress (conflicts with peers/supervisors, unhappy with career, etc) * Readjusting to civilian life after military service (home and/or work, stress from working with the VA for help) * Working through combat-related traumas My approach to counseling is to help you find value and meaning in the experience as you navigate a way forward. We create a safe space for you to share your feelings. I like to provide an assignment between sessions for you to complete to help reinforce a new change or skill or to assign a writing exercise to help you explore your feelings, but these are not required. We’ll work to figure out how you’ll benefit the most from our time together. I’m a liberal person who is comfortable working with people of all sexual orientations.