Melissa Bercier, PhD, LCSW
President and Owner
Melisa Bercier, PhD, LCSW received her Master's and Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work through Loyola University-Chicago and her BA in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Bercier is a Certified Compassion Fatigue Specialist, certified through the Traumatology Institute. She is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Illinois.
Being a Certified Compassion Fatigue Specialist allows Dr. Bercier to implement the Accelerated Recovery Program (ARP) intervention which helps to reduce and prevent symptoms of compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress experienced by helping professionals. Dr. Bercier made compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress and vicarious trauma her research focus throughout her PhD program, resulting in the first systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions targeting compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress and vicarious trauma in mental health workers.
Dr. Bercier's experience in mental health dates back to 1995 when she began working in community mental health centers in Chicago. Since then, her experience expanded to psychiatric in-patient treatment at Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Stone Institute of Psychiatry in Chicago, IL and Montevista Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas, NV. Her experience also includes out-patient psychotherapy and group therapy at Alternatives Community Mental Health Center in Anchorage, Alaska. Since 2010, Dr. Bercier has worked as an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) therapist and affiliate where she has had the opportunity to work with various individual, family, and couples' issues in a brief treatment, out-patient therapy setting. From 2006 to 2010 she also served as the Three Rivers District Chair on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Social Workers-IL (NASW).
Dr. Bercier's passion is helping the helper and has made this a large part of her private practice at Walk and Talk Therapy in Elmhurst, IL as well as at her added location, Couch Clarity, in Villa Park, IL . Her main goal has been to destigmatize therapeutic treatment by promoting taking pride in making a "positive change". Dr. Bercier believes in being authentic and creating a very positive and comfortable atmosphere for her clients. Protecting her clients' confidentiality is legally and ethically required of her. She takes ethics and confidentiality very seriously and will always take this into consideration when in public with clients.
Being a Certified Compassion Fatigue Specialist allows Dr. Bercier to implement the Accelerated Recovery Program (ARP) intervention which helps to reduce and prevent symptoms of compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress experienced by helping professionals. Dr. Bercier made compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress and vicarious trauma her research focus throughout her PhD program, resulting in the first systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions targeting compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress and vicarious trauma in mental health workers.
Dr. Bercier's experience in mental health dates back to 1995 when she began working in community mental health centers in Chicago. Since then, her experience expanded to psychiatric in-patient treatment at Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Stone Institute of Psychiatry in Chicago, IL and Montevista Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas, NV. Her experience also includes out-patient psychotherapy and group therapy at Alternatives Community Mental Health Center in Anchorage, Alaska. Since 2010, Dr. Bercier has worked as an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) therapist and affiliate where she has had the opportunity to work with various individual, family, and couples' issues in a brief treatment, out-patient therapy setting. From 2006 to 2010 she also served as the Three Rivers District Chair on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Social Workers-IL (NASW).
Dr. Bercier's passion is helping the helper and has made this a large part of her private practice at Walk and Talk Therapy in Elmhurst, IL as well as at her added location, Couch Clarity, in Villa Park, IL . Her main goal has been to destigmatize therapeutic treatment by promoting taking pride in making a "positive change". Dr. Bercier believes in being authentic and creating a very positive and comfortable atmosphere for her clients. Protecting her clients' confidentiality is legally and ethically required of her. She takes ethics and confidentiality very seriously and will always take this into consideration when in public with clients.
Please click here: couchclarity.com to see more about our practice and all the bios on our therapists!