Amy Melchor

Associate Therapist
(she/her)

Photo of Nido Individual & Family Therapy therapist Amy Melchor

Amy is an Associate Marriage & Family Therapist currently accepting new clients in California!

Amy’s curiosity about mental health began with her own lived experiences. This curiosity about how people operate only deepened over time, beginning her career as a peer counselor. In that role, Amy helped individuals meet their most basic needs, learning quickly that many have limited access to mental health information and that it is difficult for healing to happen if survival is the priority. This early work shaped Amy’s core value: meet people where they are.

As a first-generation, neurodivergent, queer Mexican woman, Amy brings deep insight into navigating systems and how intersecting identities can sometimes either meld or contradict. She creates space for clients to explore all parts of themselves, including those carrying shame or self-doubt, and practices radical acceptance as a cornerstone of her work. 

Radical acceptance isn’t a buzzword to Amy — it’s a serious, ongoing practice. She holds space for the parts of ourselves that may feel hard to look at, especially the ones we’ve been taught to hide or feel ashamed of. She honors the survival strategies, like substance use or self-harm, that have helped clients make it through impossible situations, without judgment or pathologizing. Her work centers on helping clients feel safe in their bodies, empowered in their stories, and supported as they move toward greater self-trust.

Amy has worked with a wide range of clients, including children, teens, and adults navigating trauma, chronic illness, infidelity, C-PTSD, suicidal ideation, and the complexities of being first-generation.

Additionally, group work has been a meaningful part of Amy’s clinical path. She has facilitated everything from Dungeons & Dragons groups for teen boys to creative arts groups for transition-age youth, as well as mental health support circles for older adults during the pandemic. 

No matter the format, Amy brings warmth and a grounded presence to the room. She has a unique ability to sit with clients in the heaviness of grief, fear, or shame while also making room for lightness when it naturally arises. Amy sees humor as a vital part of the therapeutic process. Humor, for her, is not about dismissing pain but about honoring the full emotional spectrum. Laughter and seriousness exist side by side, and both deserve space in the therapeutic process. 

When she’s not in the therapy room, Amy is often deep in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign.

Amy has unique experience working with:

  • Trauma/PTSD/C-PTSD

  • Dissociation

  • Achievement Guilt

  • Parentification

  • First-Generation Identities

  • Chronic Illnesses

  • LGBTQIA2-S+ Folks

  • Infidelity (Ruptures in relationships)

  • Chronic Suicidal Ideation and Self-Harm

  • Children and Teens

  • School Stressors

  • Depression & Anxiety

  • Couples and Families

Amy’s approach and modalities when working with clients:

  • Distress Tolerance/Resilience

  • Trauma-Informed/Person-Centered

  • Psychodynamic

  • Psychoanalytically Informed

  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

  • Radical Acceptance/Compassion-Focused

  • Attachment-Based

  • Collaborative/Relational

  • Mentalization

  • Mindfulness

  • Scaffolding

  • Play Therapy

Amy is a Registered Associate Marriage & Family Therapist
Supervised by Kate McDonough, LMFT #133161

Practicing in the state of California for in-person and telehealth sessions.

Want to work with Amy?

You can expect a response from us within two business days.

Begin the process