You Have the Capacity to Heal
Virtual trauma and OCD therapy for adults in Utah and Oregon
At Ascent Therapy Co., we believe every person has the capacity for healing, growth, and greater freedom.
The patterns that keep you feeling stuck are not signs of weakness. Many began as understandable ways of protecting yourself, creating certainty, or coping with experiences that felt overwhelming. Even when those patterns are no longer helping, they deserve to be approached with curiosity rather than shame.
We believe therapy should return power to you. Its purpose is not simply to manage symptoms or create indefinite dependence on support. Therapy should help you understand yourself more deeply, develop more flexible ways of responding, and build the competence and self-trust to carry meaningful change into your life.
Why Ascent Therapy Co. Exists
Our approach is collaborative, compassionate, and grounded in current research.
Together, we work to understand the experiences, beliefs, nervous-system responses, and protective patterns contributing to your distress. Treatment is thoughtfully tailored to your needs, goals, and pace—not reduced to a one-size-fits-all formula.
The goal is not a life without difficulty. It is greater freedom to choose how you respond to it.
How We Approach Therapy
Ascent Therapy Co. provides private-pay virtual psychotherapy for adults located in Utah and Oregon.
We specialize in supporting adults experiencing:
OCD and intrusive thoughts
PTSD and complex trauma
Distressing past experiences
Chronic stress and emotional overwhelm
Perfectionism, avoidance, and survival-mode patterns
Depending on your needs, treatment may incorporate Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), mindfulness-based practices, and relational therapy.
What We Offer
Meet the Founder
I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the founder of Ascent Therapy Co. I created this practice to provide the kind of therapy I believe people deserve: thoughtful, focused care that honors both the complexity of what they have experienced and their capacity to grow.
I specialize in working with adults experiencing trauma, OCD, intrusive thoughts, chronic stress, perfectionism, and emotional overwhelm. My style is thoughtful, collaborative, and direct. I bring warmth, curiosity, and structure, offering honest feedback with care as we explore the patterns keeping you stuck and practice new ways of responding. I also bring humor when it fits—there’s room for both serious work and moments of lightness.
I am EMDR-trained and have completed advanced training in complex trauma. I am also an EMDRIA member currently working toward EMDRIA certification.
My hope is that therapy helps you feel increasingly capable of navigating your life—not because difficulty disappears, but because you trust yourself more fully when it arises.
Outside of therapy, I love Pilates, yoga, and creative projects like sewing. Music is a big part of my life, too—I love singing, dancing, and, if my friends are lucky, a little karaoke.
Melanie Crofts, LCSW
Our Clinical Approach
Mindfulness
Practices that strengthen emotional awareness, present-moment attention, and the ability to respond rather than react automatically.
Relational
A collaborative therapeutic relationship grounded in safety, honesty, curiosity, and respect for your individual experience.
ERP
Evidence-based OCD treatment that helps you face intrusive thoughts and uncertainty without relying on compulsions, reassurance, or avoidance.
EMDR
Trauma-focused therapy that helps the brain process distressing experiences so they feel less active and disruptive in the present.
What Therapy Can Help You Build
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Greater understanding
Recognize protective patterns and understand how they developed without approaching yourself with shame.
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Greater flexibility
Practice new responses to intrusive thoughts, emotional triggers, uncertainty, avoidance, and survival-mode reactions.
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Greater self-trust
Develop skills, competence, and confidence that extend beyond therapy and into your everyday life.
PhilosophyTherapy should help you build the freedom and self-trust to carry change forward beyond the therapy room.
Article: When Safety Feels Uncomfortable
Sometimes the hardest part of healing isn't leaving an unhealthy environment—it's learning to feel comfortable in a healthier one. Explore why safety, calm, and supportive relationships can feel unfamiliar after chronic trauma.
Frequently Asked Questions
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We specialize in working with adults navigating trauma, OCD, intrusive thoughts, chronic stress, emotional overwhelm, compulsive behaviors, avoidance patterns, and nervous system dysregulation. Treatment is tailored to each individual using evidence-based approaches including EMDR, ERP, mindfulness, and relational therapy.
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Ascent Therapy Co. provides virtual individual therapy for adults age 18 and older who are physically located in Utah or Oregon at the time of their appointment. Melanie Crofts, LCSW, is licensed as a Clinical Social Worker in both states. Sessions are conducted through a secure, HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform.
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EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an evidence-based trauma therapy designed to help the brain process distressing experiences that continue to feel emotionally or physically overwhelming. EMDR can support healing from single-event trauma, childhood relational wounds, chronic stress, panic responses, and other experiences that remain “stuck” in the nervous system.
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ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) is considered the gold-standard treatment for OCD and fear-based patterns. ERP helps clients practice experiencing intrusive thoughts and uncertainty without relying on compulsions, reassurance, avoidance, or attempts to achieve complete certainty.
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The first session is an intake appointment focused on understanding your background, current symptoms, goals, and what patterns may be contributing to distress. Together, we will begin building a collaborative treatment plan tailored to your needs, values, and desired direction for therapy.
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Therapy may be helpful if you feel stuck in painful emotional patterns, overwhelmed by stress, disconnected from yourself, caught in fear cycles, or struggling to move toward the life you want to create. The therapeutic process is collaborative and individualized, with the goal of helping clients build greater flexibility, insight, resilience, and meaningful change over time.
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No. Therapy is not only for extreme or catastrophic experiences. Many people seek therapy for chronic stress, relational wounds, intrusive thoughts, emotional overwhelm, perfectionism, burnout, or patterns that have gradually become difficult to manage. Treatment can support both symptom reduction and deeper personal growth.
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Ascent Therapy Co. is a private-pay practice. There are a limited number of insurance-based appointments through an affiliation with Beehive Mental Health. Those services are billed and administered separately by Beehive and depend on insurance eligibility and current availability. Contact us for details.
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Yes. Intrusive thoughts are unwanted thoughts, images, or fears that can feel distressing, repetitive, or difficult to control. Therapy approaches such as ERP and mindfulness-based interventions can help reduce fear cycles, compulsions, reassurance-seeking, and the emotional impact of intrusive thoughts over time.
Evidence-based virtual therapy for adults across Utah and Oregon specializing in trauma, OCD, intrusive thoughts, chronic stress, and emotional overwhelm.
Connect & Learn More
Psychology Today
A place to learn more about my approach, specialties, and availability.
Learn more about my professional background, experience, and clinical specialties.
EMDRIA Directory
View Melanie’s professional profile, EMDR training information, and EMDRIA membership.
Request a Consultation
Use the inquiry form to ask a general question or request a free 15-minute consultation to discuss what you’re looking for and whether Ascent Therapy Co. may be a good fit.
Please avoid including sensitive clinical information. This form is not monitored continuously and should not be used for urgent or emergency concerns. You can expect a response within two business days.
Please avoid including sensitive clinical information