Life Stone Counseling Centers

MELISSA YARDLEY, LCMHC

AMERICAN FORK & WEST JORDAN LOCATIONS | ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS

"Life sometimes feels like a daunting mountain we didn't ask for but must climb. If that's where you are right now, I'm glad you are here. Therapy doesn't get rid of the mountain, or make someone else climb it for you, and I'm not here to tell you the "right" path to take, but to walk beside you, help you notice footholds and detours you might not see from where you're standing, and make sure you never have to feel like you're climbing alone. You don't need to have the right words, or even know exactly what's wrong. You just need a place where all of the messiness, uncertainty, and stuckness is allowed to show up, and be met with the support, strength, and tools to keep going."

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Melissa Yardley is a licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor whose career began with eleven years in school-based counseling roles, before transitioning to outpatient clinical work. She specializes in working with adolescents and neurodivergent youth, and also works with clients of all ages around anxiety, depression, body-focused repetitive behaviors, grief, life stress, and family relationship issues. Melissa's approach is person-centered and rooted in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), with additional training in DBT, CBT, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, and experiential modalities including play and art therapy. She believes in the healing power of fun, laughter, and creative expression, and incorporates these into her evidence-based practice. She holds a Master of Education in Psychology - School Counseling from Utah State University and a Certificate of Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions.

SPECIALTIES:

ADHD, Adolescents, Anxiety, Children, Depression, Grief & Loss, Life Adjustments, Self-Esteem/Confidence, Shame, SMART Goals, Stress Management, Suicidal Ideation/Self-Harm, Trauma/PTSD, Women's Issues, Young Adults

PRIMARY MODALITIES:

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Experiential Therapy, Mindfulness, Person-Centered Therapy, Play Therapy

A personal motto of mine is "we do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing," and this shapes how I show up in therapy. In our work together, expect a space where you can be fully yourself— big feelings, weird tangents, dark humor, all of it is welcome! I lean toward acceptance-based approaches (ACT) blended with practical skills work, and I love using creative and experiential tools to help you find your own path to healing. When things feel overwhelming, there's room here to fall apart a little before we put anything back together. We'll feel what needs to be felt, and then we'll work on real, practical tools you can actually use, so you can find your footing again, one step at a time.