MELANIE ERNOULD, PSYD
Connection Mindfulness Play
“ Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child’s soul.” - Friedrich Froebel
Friedrich Frobel
PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES
INDIVIDUAL ADULT THERAPY SESSION
Finding your way to the best you
Feeling a bit lost lately and nothing seems to help you find your way? It might be time to seek help from a licensed professional. My Individual Adult Therapy sessions help guide clients through life’s most complex and challenging circumstances. My Midtown office is comfortable and accessible, reflecting my style with clients. My small and gentle dog, Fleur, helps with providing emotional support, holding space, and bearing witness to all our clients bring with them into the therapy room. Contact me today and let me help you find your way back to your best version of yourself.
CHILD CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY/PLAY THERAPY SESSION
Child Directed, Expertly Supported
If you’re looking for child therapy sessions with a highly qualified licensed Child Clinical Psychologist who cares, then you’ve come to the right place. I implement various methods (play therapy, emotional awareness, mindfulness, CBT, parent coaching) to help wonderful children with difficult behaviors and issues and their families find some peace. My small and gentle (and very patient) dog, Fleur, helps with providing emotional support, holding space, and bearing witness to all our clients bring with them into the therapy room. Schedule an appointment today and see what I can do for you and your child.
ADHD FOCUSED PSYCHOLOGICAL DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT
Here For You
ADHD is an often misunderstood and misdiagnosed disorder and there is unfortunately a large number of providers promoting false information and providing problematic assessments. At the same time, there is new research contributing to our knowledge about ADHD every day. Girls and women with ADHD are often missed due to misconceptions about the disorder’s presentation and biased assessment tools. Many adult women are seeking diagnostic clarity, having now become aware that the disorder may explain their lifelong experiences. If you are looking for a diagnostic assessment from a qualified psychologist who is up to date on how to properly assess and diagnose ADHD and who understands the nuance of its presentation in girls and women, you’ve come to the right place. Schedule an appointment today to get started.
GIRLS EQUINE ASSISTED THERAPY GROUP
One of a Kind
In these regularly occurring sessions at my farm in Wilton, we’ll build group cohesion and trust and take time to process through current problems and hold supportive space for one another. We will also spend time being with horses, and inviting them to be with us, safely and skillfully. We will learn how to handle horses in ways that will benefit us in our everyday lives and build confidence, as we practice taking up space and commanding a 1,000 lb animal. I’m confident you’ll find the Girls Equine Assisted Therapy Group to be one of a kind and powerful. Get in touch to see if your girl may be a good fit.
CRAFT AND CONVALESCE ADULT THERAPY GROUP
A Happier, Healthier, Craftier, More Connected You
In a vein similar to the Stitch and B*tch groups predating WWII, where women would gather to sew or knit and socialize, this group serves the purpose of connecting a group of people with a common interest (handicrafts!); but it’s so much more than this! At a time when we are all walking around with open inner wounds from our post Covid lives, and less deeply connected to one another than ever, we need to intentionally make time for things that will connect us to one another and fill us up. This group aims to do just that. This will be a formal process therapy group with a comfortable feel. Whether you are someone who thinks better with a craft in your hand or, like I, simply believes that doing with one’s hands is nurturing, this group could be for you! Reach out to find out if you may be a good fit.
Benefit from my professional experience and wide range of psychological services.
UNIQUELY EXPERIENCED
I have almost 20 years of experience working with wonderful children and young adults with difficult behaviors and struggles, and their families. I have been seeing clients in private practice for 6 years and, 4 years ago, started building a farm sanctuary where I hold children’s therapeutic camps and equine assisted and farm play therapy. I have a lot of unique training and education that sets me apart. I graduated from Smith College with a degree in psychology and education. I received my MS and PsyD from Antioch University New England and trained at the Brown University Center for the Study of Children at Risk, consulted for Head Start, and performed therapy and psychological assessments through the early childhood program at the UMass and other community mental health clinics. With a well rounded doctoral education and diagnostic assessment experience, I am a skilled big picture thinker and can help guide you and your family through the process, gaining clarity along the way. At the same time, you know yourself or your child best, so the process works best when it’s collaborative. I truly enjoy meeting with parents to collaborate on ways to help their child thrive.
As a licensed Child Clinical Psychologist in private practice in the Sacramento area, I am committed to the well-being of all my clients and their families. I am playful and gentle in my therapy, and easily connect with my clients, big and small, authentically.
ABOUT ME
Learning From Children Since 2006
Serving Clients in Private Practice Since 2018
Saving Animals and Running Children’s Camps since 2020
An East Coast transplant, my path to becoming a psychologist began at Smith College and with my work with children through education (initially Music and education). During my doctoral program and since, I geared my training experience toward work with young children and families. I graduated from Antioch University New England with an MS and a PsyD in Clinical Psychology. For my doctoral dissertation, I designed and wrote a treatment manual for a mindfulness based therapy group for high school students experiencing bullying because of their sexual identity.
I became a mom in 2011 and moved to California in 2012 where I completed my post doc at Authentic Counseling Associates. While at ACA, I received training in Redecision Therapy and Internal Family Systems. Shortly after completing my post doc, I started my private practice in Midtown, Sacramento.
It is my belief that therapy is a collaborative process, with therapist and client working side by side toward a common goal. Authentic is a perfect way to describe how I view the therapeutic relationship, and all of my relationships. I am patient, playful, and gentle, but honest, in my therapy, and easily connect with my clients in a genuine way. I believe it is through this connective relationship—and through practices such as mindfulness, play, and self-care—that clients open previously unavailable paths to health and happiness.
In 2020 I founded Sadie Grove Farm, a 501c3 animal sanctuary where I hold therapeutic children’s camps, equine and animal assisted therapy, farm play therapy, and a horseback riding school. The farm is my passion project and epitomizes how I feel about the healing benefits of nature, animals, free range play, manual labor in the care of other beings, and getting one's hands dirty.
Get in touch and check us out!