Melena O Ayres
(she/her/hers)
Co-Owner, Clinical Social Worker and Dependency Counselor
Specialties:
High functioning adults struggling with OCD, Trauma, Anxiety, Relationship issues, Perfectionism, and People Pleasing.
Treatment Modalities:
EMDR, CBT, DBT, EPR
Works with:
Adults
As a teen mom, I was eager to get my degree and enter the workforce. I earned an Associate's Degree from NCTC and began a career in Municipal government. After a decade long career as a paralegal, I returned to school to pursue my passion for sociology and social work. I got my Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from UNT and my Master's of Social Work from UTArlington. My experience in the field varies from working in a detention center, a psych hospital, the United Way, a police department in their victims' unit, running groups, private practice, and supervising new social workers. I am EMDR trained and I specialize in working with high functioning adults struggling with anxiety, perfectionism, and people pleasing. I am specialized in working with OCD and ERP. I am trained in, and mostly use, CBT and DBT.
More Info About Me:
My approach is compassionate, caring, and direct. I care deeply for every client that comes in, just knowing they are taking the difficult step of seeking personal growth and change, I know just how difficult that can be. I am not afraid to take risks in the therapeutic space, to challenge my clients' growth in the goals they have set for themselves. I offer a compassionate space to explore life, relationships, patterns, etc with honesty and curiosity.
Many of my clients are fellow social workers, teachers, nurses, university employees, and students. They are strong, thoughtful people who are used to being the helper, the fixer, or the one others lean on, but underneath, they’re tired of constantly managing emotions, expectations, and stress without space to breathe.
Therapy with me is about slowing down, tuning in, and gaining a deeper, more grounded connection with yourself. It’s about creating a space where you can hear your own thoughts, name your needs, and stop shrinking or striving just to get through the day. Using the techniques I am trained in, together, we create a vision for the future and how you can show up differently in your life.
I am a "third culture kid," meaning I grew up overseas and have a mix of my parents' culture and the countries where I grew up. I am a person in long-term recovery, I am a mother, a wife, and a dog lover. My husband and I are theme park enthusiasts and enjoy traveling to new places. I am also an adjunct professor at Texas Woman's University.