“It is in the space between the inner and outer world, which is also the space between people—the transitional space—that intimate relationships and creativity occur.” D.W. Winnicott
For over a decade, Melissa worked at UCSF Children’s hospital, stewarded the Pregnancy and Postpartum Mood Assessment Clinic, taught in the School of Medicine and also for the social work interns. She co-founded the acclaimed Afterglow Postpartum Support Group and initiated a Pre-natal Yoga Program.
She now has an online private practice where she offers 50 minute sessions to individuals.
In Oakland, Melissa offers Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy to people who suffer from depression, anxiety, grief and trauma. She provides preparation and integration sessions that do not include medicine. Working with a medical doctor to serve over a thousand clients with KAP, she believes when handled ethically and with care, the work can be transformative.
She received her master’s degree in social work from USC in 2003, and completed a 200 hour yoga certification in 2004. In 2018, she trained in Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. She specializes in perinatal populations, teaching, training and writing at the intersection of motherhood and medicine. In 2023, she founded a non-profit, Deva Collective, to research Women’s Health and Psychedelics. In January 2026, she accepted a position as Clinical Director of the KAP training clinic at CIIS
Melissa has spoken at numerous conferences, published in both scholarly and popular journals, and is sought after for consultation by clinicians who work with perinatal populations.