Dr. Jennifer Melo, Psy.D.

About Dr. Melo

If what you’re going through feels layered — maybe anxiety tangled with old hurt, or a sadness that doesn’t quite make sense on the surface — I want you to know that’s actually very common. I specialize in helping people untangle the complicated parts. The stuff that sits underneath the obvious. The patterns that keep showing up even when you thought you’d moved past them.

I’m curious about your story — all of it, not just the chapter that brought you here today. I set aside assumptions about how things are “supposed” to look and pay attention to what’s actually happening in your life. My personality and humor are a real part of our work together, because I believe being genuine is what makes therapy actually work.

“I come from a culture where suffering was kept quiet. I became a therapist so no one has to carry their pain alone.”

Dr. Jennifer Melo, Psy.D., Therapist DC

My Approach

I work from a psychoanalytic and trauma-informed framework, which means I’m interested in the roots of things — not just the symptoms you notice right now, but the deeper patterns and experiences that shaped them. Understanding where something comes from gives you real power to change it. That’s different from just managing it, and it’s the kind of work I’m most drawn to.

In our sessions, I’m structured and direct without being cold about it. I’ll ask questions that get underneath the surface, and I’ll sit with you in the hard feelings without rushing past them. I think of myself as your guide in this work — you bring the expertise on your own life, and I bring the clinical tools to help you make sense of it.

I’ve spent years studying how childhood trauma shows up in adulthood — not always in obvious ways, but in the relationships we choose, the way we talk to ourselves, and the things we avoid without realizing it. I also bring a deep understanding of how cultural identity intersects with mental health. I grew up in a culture where therapy was stigmatized, and that lived experience shapes how I work with clients from all kinds of backgrounds. I’ve worked across forensic, medical, and community settings with people whose stories don’t fit neatly into one box.

If you’re someone who wants more than surface-level coping — if you want to understand the why behind what you’re feeling and build something more solid from there — I’m here for that work.