Melanie Crofts, LCSW

I provide individual telehealth therapy to adults located in Utah and Oregon, specializing in OCD and trauma. OCD treatment is grounded in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and addresses obsessions, intrusive thoughts, compulsions, avoidance, reassurance-seeking, checking, rumination, and mental rituals. Treatment is collaborative and individualized, with careful consideration of trauma, dissociation, safety, cultural context, and other factors affecting exposure planning. I also provide EMDR therapy when clinically appropriate for co-occurring trauma-related concerns. Maybe 70% of clients have OCD.

Treatment is individualized according to each client’s presenting concerns, goals, and functional impairment. When OCD occurs alongside trauma/PTSD, anxiety, chronic stress, or emotional overwhelm, I assess how the conditions interact and collaboratively establish treatment priorities. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is used to address obsessions, compulsions, avoidance, and reassurance-seeking. When clinically appropriate, EMDR may be incorporated to address distressing or traumatic experiences while ensuring that trauma-focused interventions do not become a means of neutralizing uncertainty or avoiding ERP. Treatment generally consists of individual, virtual sessions held weekly or twice weekly, with periodic reassessment and coordination with other providers when authorized and beneficial.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with specialized training in the assessment and treatment of OCD using Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). My clinical experience includes working with adults experiencing intrusive thoughts, obsessions, overt and covert compulsions, reassurance-seeking, checking, avoidance, rumination, perfectionism driven by fear or doubt, hyper-responsibility, contamination concerns, and relationship-focused OCD symptoms. I use collaborative, individualized exposure planning and consider trauma, dissociation, safety, and cultural factors when determining whether and how exposures are conducted. I completed training at Cognitive Behavior Institute- 4-Day Intensive Workshop: Exposure and Response Therapy for OCD.

My virtual practice serves adults throughout Utah and Oregon, including individuals who may not have access to specialized OCD, trauma, and EMDR treatment in their local communities. I have experience working with clients from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds, including Asian, Middle Eastern, Black/African American, and Latino communities. I approach this work with cultural humility and attend to how each client’s identities, values, family background, and lived experiences affect treatment.

My social work education & clinical approach are grounded in cultural humility, ethical practice, and consideration of the broader systems and identities affecting each client. I invite discussion of how culture, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, socioeconomic circumstances, family background, and other identities may influence a client’s experience of OCD and access to treatment. ERP is collaboratively developed to respect the client’s values and cultural context rather than imposing the clinician’s assumptions. I remain attentive to power, bias, and the limits of my competence. I seek appropriate consultation or provide referrals when a client’s needs fall outside my training or scope.