Melissa DeLong, LCSW

Melissa DeLong is honored to lead the premier private practice in Alabama specializing in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and other evidence-based therapies in Birmingham and its neighboring areas. A native of Birmingham, Melissa's journey led her from a career as a professional ballet dancer with the American Ballet Theatre in New York to pursuing a psychology degree at Columbia University, where she graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. Complementing her education, Melissa furthered her expertise in social work at NYU, focusing on psychodynamic psychotherapy.

Passionate about integrating psychodynamic therapy with evidence-based treatments, Melissa received formal training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for adults with depression and anxiety at the Beck Institute in Philadelphia. She also underwent intensive training in DBT through Marsha Linehan’s Behavioral Tech and continues to receive supervision in DBT application from NYU professor and DBT/AEDP therapist, Yuval Moses, LCSW.

Melissa is a Level 2 therapist in Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) for attachment-related trauma. Notably, during her tenure at Grayson and Associates, Melissa successfully developed and implemented a comprehensive DBT program, resulting in significant improvements in emotional and behavioral outcomes for participants, as evidenced by data collected using the DERS (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale).

At The Wise Center, Melissa and her expert team offer cutting-edge evidence-based treatments for issues pertaining to emotion dysregulation, adhering closely to Linehan’s DBT model. In her current clinical practice, Melissa provides individual and group therapy to adolescents and adults while overseeing TWC's team of DBT clinicians.