Mellody House specializes in extended care treatment for individuals suffering from the devastating effects of emotional trauma. Their world-renowned treatment program was created by the center’s namesake, Pia Mellody, one of the pioneers in the fields of addiction and trauma. To learn more about our treatment programs, please call us today at

Mellody House offers two types of therapy sessions, small group and individual, as part of their therapeutic program for the treatment of emotional trauma.

Individual therapy, or personal counseling, is often described as the one-on-one relationship between patient and therapist with the goal of developing a dialogue to resolve the patient’s emotional issues.

Like individual sessions, the goal of group sessions is to help individuals grow emotionally and deal with their personal issues—but unlike individual sessions, group sessions offer the patient multiple relationships to help in the recovery process.

The benefits of group sessions include:

• Patients feel understood by others—often for the first time in their lives. They soon discover that they’re not alone and their feelings of isolation are often greatly reduced as a result.
• Members share stories about their issues and life experiences so that individuals can leave the group more knowledgeable than when they began.
• The group setting gives patients the chance to help others within the group. This process enhances the individual’s self-esteem and feelings of self-worth.
• The group often becomes the patient’s surrogate family, replacing or improving upon previous negative family experiences.
• Group therapy offers patients the opportunity to improve their ability to relate to others and live more satisfying lives because of the relationships they form.
• The group dynamic provides more opportunities for individuals to have powerful emotionally cathartic experiences.

Other Therapies Include:

SOMATIC EXPERIENCING
Somatic Experiencing is cutting-edge therapeutic tool used to treat individuals suffering from severe trauma by focusing on the patient’s perceived body sensations, or “somatic experiences.” Somatic Experiencing works by allowing the body’s nervous system to release stress and trauma through body awareness, or in other words, stimulating healthy, instinctive self-protective responses to a traumatic event. At Mellody House, we combine the use of Somatic Experiencing with other powerful therapeutic tools to support and enhance the process of recovery.

EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, combines cognitive-behavioral therapy with bilateral eye movement and other forms of rhythmic, left-right stimulation to greatly reduce the effects of emotional trauma. When combined with The Meadows’ Developmental Immaturity Model, EMDR can effectively reduce or eliminate emotional trauma by addressing how the brain’s limbic system and pre-frontal cortex react when subjected to bilateral stimulation. EMDR is safe and effective when administered by trained professionals—and in recent studies, a majority of patients who underwent EMDR therapy reported a significant reduction of trauma symptoms and an enhanced sense of wellbeing.

12-STEP MEETINGS
12-step meetings play an important role in the extended care treatment program at Mellody House. The 12-step tradition is based on the concept of “universality,” or the belief that “I am not alone.” 12-step meetings can have a powerful cathartic effect as group members are encouraged to listen to the experiences of others and then share their own experiences. In the process, patients gain insight into their trauma; express deep-seated emotions and find validation and acceptance within the group. At Mellody House, 12-step meetings are conducted in an intimate setting with complete confidentiality.

SPIRITUAL COUNSELING
At Mellody House, we understand that spiritual issues can play a role in our patients’ emotional trauma, that’s why we offer spiritual counseling when deemed appropriate. One common misconception is that spiritual counseling is based on the teachings of organized religions such as Christianity or Judaism, but this is not always the case—spiritual counseling can also be non-denominational in nature. Spirituality has always played a key role in human existence—a spiritual sense of wellbeing helps give people’s lives meaning. Often, those suffering from addictions or trauma have lost their spiritual connection—and spiritual counseling helps them reconnect.  Spiritual counseling also aids in the recovery process by showing patients that there’s a force greater than themselves—and encouraging them to turn themselves over to that force.

EXPRESSIVE ART THERAPY
At Mellody House, we combine traditional therapeutic techniques with expressive art therapy to help patients work though their emotional issues. Expressive art therapy is based on the idea that artistic self-expression can be helpful in the treatment of trauma. Emotional trauma is often extremely difficult to express in words and expressive art therapy provides a creative outlet for those emotions that may be too painful to express verbally. You don’t have to be an artist to sign up for expressive art therapy—anyone can participate, no matter what your level of artistic ability.

NUTRITIONAL CONSULTATION
Studies have shown that a healthy diet improves emotional wellbeing, reduces stress and improves spiritual awareness. At Mellody House, nutritional counselors assess their patients’ dietary intake, identify areas where change is needed and then provide them with a comprehensive dietary program to eat healthy for life. Nutritional deficiencies rob the body of its natural resources—leading to symptoms of fatigue, mood swings and insomnia. Unhealthy eating habits are also known to contribute to conditions such as high blood pressure, blocked arteries, diabetes and arthritis, among others.

To find out more about our therapy programs at Mellody House, call us at .