Melissa DeLong, LCSW, PIP

Melissa is proud to direct the leading private practice in Alabama that focuses exclusively on offering Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and other evidence-based therapies to Birmingham and its surrounding areas. Although she is originally from Birmingham, Ms. DeLong has spent most of her life in New York, initially as a professional ballet dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. After her career in the arts, she pursued a psychology degree at Columbia University, graduating summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. Melissa furthered her education in social work at NYU, where she received training in psychodynamic psychotherapy. Since completing her studies, she has been dedicated to integrating psychodynamic therapy practices with evidence-based treatments. Specifically, Melissa underwent formal training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for adults with depression and anxiety at the Beck Institute in Philadelphia. She also received intensive training in DBT through Marsha Linehan’s Behavioral Tech and ongoing supervision in DBT application from NYU professor and DBT/AEDP therapist, Yuval Moses, LCSW. Additionally, Melissa is a Level 2 therapist in Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) for attachment-related trauma. During her time at Grayson and Associates as a psychotherapist, she successfully developed and executed a comprehensive DBT program. Program participants consistently demonstrated significant improvements in emotional and behavioral outcomes, as indicated by data collected using the DERS (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale), a validated research tool for measuring emotion regulation. At The Wise Center, Melissa and her highly trained team offer the latest evidence-based treatments for issues related to emotion dysregulation, following Linehan’s DBT model rigorously. Melissa's current clinical practice involves providing individual therapy to adolescents and adults, as well as supervising TWC's team of DBT clinicians.