Dr. Melissa Hunt
Dr Melissa Hunt

Dr. Melissa Hunt is a licensed clinical psychologist with extensive experience in psychotherapy and psychological assessment. While she has training and experience in working with clients of all ages, her primary clinical focus is working with children, adolescents, young adults, and families. Dr. Hunt works to help clients understand and cope with social, emotional, relational, and learning difficulties through careful assessment, education, parent support, skills building, and insight development. Her particular areas of interest and expertise include emotion dysregulation, trauma, mood and anxiety disorders, oppositionality, identity development, self-harming behaviors, and personality assessment. Dr. Hunt's treatment approach incorporates insight-oriented, expressive, and cognitive-behavioral techniques within a relational framework. She places significant focus on empowering individuals to utilize their unique qualities in positive and healthy ways.

Dr. Hunt graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Arkansas' Fulbright Honors Program with a bachelor's degree in psychology. She earned a master's degree and doctorate (Ph.D.) in clinical psychology at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Hunt has researched anxiety, depression, psychopathy, and adolescent behavioral difficulties. She has published several research articles and has presented her research at national conferences.

Dr. Hunt completed her predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the Virginia Treatment Center for Children (VTCC) in Richmond, Virginia. There she had the privilege to work with children, adolescents, and families in a residential treatment program, an acute psychiatric hospital unit, and an outpatient clinic. She provided individual therapy, family therapy, group therapy, and psychological assessment at VTCC, as well as consultation and liaison services to a major university medical center. As a postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Hunt taught a seminar in psychotherapy and supervised psychology interns. Most recently, Dr. Hunt helped develop and served as the clinical supervisor for the Assessment and Diagnostic Service at Region Ten Community Services Board in Charlottesville, Virginia. In this capacity she provided comprehensive psychological assessments and treatment planning for high-risk children and adolescents, and provided individual and family therapy on an outpatient basis.