Melanie Mastin

About Melanie Mastin

Melanie believes that everyone deserves to know what it feels like to be truly acknowledged, loved and accepted, for who they really are. This belief appears in her approach which begins with acknowledgement and creating a warm, nonjudgmental space where clients can feel fully seen. She describes therapy as a “soft place to land,” a place where clients can lower their guard, build trust, and work on what matters most to them without feeling that they have to fit into a particular mold.

Melanie’s path to counseling had a few chapters. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Communication and Sociology from Wake Forest University, a master’s degree in Sports Management from the University of Tennessee, worked in sports marketing, spent more than a decade in education, and eventually returned to Wake Forest for graduate training in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. That winding path is part of what makes her comfortable with people who are rethinking who they are or what comes next.

Melanie especially enjoys working with women in midlife, when relationships, family roles, identity, empty-nesting, or other changes can leave someone asking, “Who am I now?” She also enjoys working with children who need a safe place where the attention is really on them and where they can express things that may be hard to say anywhere else.

Melanie does not rush to techniques. She starts with the relationship. Once there is trust, she can bring in practical tools, psychoeducation, and other approaches that fit the person. She wants therapy to give clients room to be fully themselves while still helping them make choices that move something forward.

Melanie wants clients to know that growth is not a straight line. Some weeks feel like a breakthrough. Other weeks do not. Progress can include setbacks, uncertainty, and realizing something you did not see before. What matters is continuing to show up and building from one choice to the next.