Somatic & experiential psychotherapy · New York
Change that happens underneath the thinking brain.
You’ve done the therapy. You can name all of your patterns. But after a breakup or a crisis, you’re right back where you started. This is the work that goes deeper than insight.
The plateau
Understanding it isn’t the same as changing it
Many approaches to therapy treat humans as logic machines. But real change lives in the emotional and unconscious mind, in the attachment systems and the body.
If you’ve ever felt like you understand your issues but can’t seem to change them, that difference matters. Insight tells you where the wound is. It doesn’t reach it.
Many of my clients come to me after a breakup or relationship rupture that’s landed them in a world of pain. They are often bewildered about how they ended up there. If that’s you right now, you’re not back at square one. You’re at the beginning of something different.
What I work with
The territory
Creative, sensitive, high-functioning adults who are their own worst critic — and who are quietly exhausted by it.
All specialties- Complex trauma and C-PTSDFor adults carrying the long, patterned kind of trauma — hypervigilance, shutdown, and a nervous system that never fully stood down.
- Attachment and relationshipsFor people who love hard and brace harder: anxious pursuit, avoidant retreat, and the ache of never quite being met.
- Religious trauma and high-demand group recoveryFor people leaving or recovering from high-demand religions — including ex-Mormon and ex-LDS experience — and rebuilding a self of their own.
- Narcissistic abuse and coercive controlFor people rebuilding after a controlling relationship — with a partner, a parent, a boss, or a group.
- Love addiction and sex addiction recoveryFor people caught in compulsive romantic or sexual patterns who want resolution rather than another round of shame.
- Breakup and divorce recoveryFor the specific disorientation of a breakup or divorce, especially when it reopens pain from previous losses.
- Anxiety and depressionFor high-functioning adults whose anxiety or flatness has become the background hum of an otherwise capable life.
How this is different
We repattern your emotional world at the source
The body keeps time differently
A survival response doesn’t care what you know. It fires on old information. Working somatically means we track what happens in your body as it happens — the tightening, the flatness, the impulse to leave — and stay long enough for it to move.
Inner parts, not problems
Trained in Internal Family Systems and Inner Relationship Focusing, I help you meet the inner critic, the perfectionist, or perhaps the part of yourself that goes numb — creating the psychological and somatic conditions for healing rather than management. Parts that feel heard stop shouting.
Trained in
- Internal Family Systems (IFS)
- Inner Relationship Focusing
- Somatic and experiential approaches
- Psychodynamic and relational therapy
- Mindfulness-based practice
- Psychedelic integration
Relational and direct, grown-up
I’m a real person in the room. I’ll tell you what I notice, and what’s happening between us is part of the work.
Ketamine-assisted therapy is also available in person at my office in Manhattan or in your home, with medication prescribed by a separate licensed medical provider. Read how that works.
Life coaching offered worldwide.
About Melanie
Melanie Van Orden, LCSW
I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in New York with an MSW, working somatically and experientially with adults who are done circling the same material.
I’m especially drawn to working with creatives, artists, entrepreneurs, queer folks, women, and people recovering from high-demand religions, because all of those things have been part of my personal experience.
Fees
Free
Initial consultation
$235
Individual psychotherapy, telehealth
$846
Ketamine-assisted session, 180 minutes, in person
24 hrs
Notice to cancel, or the full fee applies
I am out-of-network with all insurance plans, but I provide a monthly superbill that you can submit to your insurance company for reimbursement using any out-of-network benefits you may have. Full fee details.
“Get underneath the thinking brain and repattern your emotional world at the source.”
FAQ
The practical questions
Do you take insurance?
I am out-of-network with all insurance plans, but I provide a monthly superbill that you can submit to your insurance company for reimbursement using any out-of-network benefits you may have.
Where do sessions happen?
Weekly therapy takes place via telehealth. I am licensed in New York and can only offer psychotherapy services to people who reside in New York State. Ketamine-assisted sessions happen in person at my office in Manhattan or via home visits.
What does it cost?
Individual psychotherapy is $235 per telehealth session. Ketamine-assisted therapy is $846 for a 180-minute session. The initial consultation is free.
What's your cancellation policy?
Twenty-four hours' notice is required to cancel or reschedule. Without it, the full session fee applies.
What kind of therapy do you practice?
Somatic and experiential psychotherapy. I'm trained in Internal Family Systems, Inner Relationship Focusing, psychodynamic, relational and mindfulness-based approaches, and in psychedelic integration.
Are you a psychologist?
No. I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in New York, with an MSW.
Next step
A conversation, not a commitment
If any of the above interests you, I hope that you’ll reach out to schedule a free consultation today. Email: melanie@embodiedwithmelanie.com