"All of Western medicine is built on getting rid of pain, which is not the same as healing. Healing is actually the capacity to hold pain." - Gabor Mate
"We are healed from suffering only by experiencing it to the full." - Marcel Proust
"There is no certainty; there is only adventure." - Roberto Assagioli
"We are healed from suffering only by experiencing it to the full." - Marcel Proust
"There is no certainty; there is only adventure." - Roberto Assagioli
About Melanie Storrusten, LCSW
Owner, clinical supervisor, and therapist
Welcome to Align Wellness! I'm Melanie Storrusten, LCSW. In addition to being the founder and owner of Align Wellness, I am a therapist, social worker, yoga and meditation teacher, educator, truth and freedom-seeker, authenticity and vulnerability-encourager, energy-mover and space-holder. It is my hope that your work, with my support and walking-alongside style of guidance, will result in your life holding more joy, more peace, more stability, more abundance, and more freedom.
My vibe is laid back, casual, accessible, unpretentious, and grounded. I'll likely be in yoga pants and my bare feet, and I'll welcome you to take your shoes off and get comfortable as well. It is my intention that everyone entering my space would feel completely at ease, accepted, and affirmed. Our sessions will include traditional talk therapy, breathing exercises, direction to focus on your in-the-moment emotional and physical sensations, creation of a safe container to experience difficult emotion, gentle pushing to shift stuck energies, encouragement of all the things you're doing so well (more than you think!), and a lightness and laughter to break up the hard parts. My best thing is working with clients who are ready, or who would like to be ready, to tackle the issues that have been kept hidden until now. I am trained in specialized methods to work with trauma, and am skilled at holding space for clients and maintaining a container of safety while they learn to hold space for themselves in order to do this big and powerful work. My style is to move slowly and ensure that your nervous system is as ready as you are before we begin. My work is currently focused on working with therapists and holistic treatment providers through providing clinical supervision, training, and coaching, especially in the areas of somatic, bottom-up healing, increasing access to a clients' inner healer, incorporating integrative practices and styles into traditional therapy work, the importance of centered embodied presence and mindfulness of the therapist, and expanding ideas of success and abundance for adventurous entrepreneurs. I am not currently taking on any new clients, but would still love to help you find a great match either with another clinician at Align Wellness, or elsewhere in Atlanta or Georgia, so please don't hesitate to reach out. I am committed to Align Wellness being a place where everyone is accepted and affirmed. We are a diversity-loving, LGBTQ-affirming, body-positive and sex-positive practice. Your non-traditional relationships, alternative spiritualities, multi-cultural and intersectional self is more than welcome here. I not only welcome your feedback on how we are doing in these areas, but I actively request it! Congratulations on the wise, brave, and kind choice to engage in this healing work for yourself. Read on for more details about my education and training, career background, and therapeutic modalities used. ~ Melanie is in network with Aetna, Ambetter, Anthem/BCBS, Humana, Medicare, and Multiplan. Her standard session rate is $200. She sees adult clients only - individuals and couples, women, LGB, and trans/non-binary/gender non-conforming folks. Melanie is not currently taking new clients. |