Helping Moms and Stepmoms Navigate Every Shade of their Journey

Support for Moms Navigating the Beautiful, Messy Middle of Motherhood.

Therapy for new moms, stepmoms, and women parenting through postpartum, blended family dynamics, and generational healing.

We are an insurance-friendly practice.

If you’d like to use your insurance, please enter your information below to check your benefits.

Hi, I’m Melissa.

As both a mother and stepmother, I understand the emotional complexity, identity shifts, and deep love that comes with building a family—whether through birth, blending, or both. My personal journey informs the compassion and perspective I bring to our work together. I’m here not only as a mental health counselor, but as someone who’s walked a similar path and believes deeply in creating a space where you feel seen, supported, and empowered.

I support moms and stepmoms juggling the many roles and emotions that come with motherhood.

Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, or simply unsure where you fit in your blended family, you’re not alone.

Your story has many hues—joy, exhaustion, love, guilt, hope—all of which are valid here.

We’ll explore those layers together, reconnect with your identity, and build the tools you need to feel whole again.

Healing doesn’t happen in just one color — it’s a spectrum, and I’m here to help you move through it.

image of melissa bode zarbo standing outside

You’re doing so much.

And still wondering—am I doing enough?

You’re a new mom to a baby you love deeply, and a stepmom who’s been showing up for quite a while.

But lately, something’s shifted. Since the baby arrived, the family dynamics have become harder to navigate.

You’re trying to mother everyone fairly, but guilt and comparison creep in. You feel torn—between past and present, between your needs and theirs, between the mom you want to be and the one who’s just trying to hold it all together.

And underneath it all, there’s an ache: Why doesn’t this feel easier?

If you’ve been questioning your worth, carrying invisible pressure, or realizing that becoming a parent has reopened wounds from your own childhood—you’re not alone.

Together, we’ll work to untangle the anxiety, unpack the guilt, and begin healing from the inside out.

You can parent from a place of peace, even in the complexity of a blended family.

You can learn to give yourself grace, even when it feels hard.

This space is for you—the nurturing, thoughtful, beautifully human mom who’s trying her best every day.

You don’t have to figure this out alone.

A woman wearing a red dress and beige hat with two young boys sitting on her lap in a grassy field at sunset, with trees in the background.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • If you find that your mental and emotional health is impacting your daily functioning at home, work, school, or your relationships with friends, family, & coworkers, then counseling may be something to consider.

  • The frequency of counseling sessions typically starts with weekly or biweekly appointments, depending on the client’s individual therapeutic needs and goals.

  • All of my sessions are virtual. Prior to your session, you’ll recieve a secure and private link for us to meet online. You can use your phone or a computer to connect with me.

  • My license only permits me to see clients within the state of Florida.

  • $150 per 50 minute session. 

    Finances should not be a barrier to you receiving care so I do offer a limited number of sliding scale options if you need financial assistance. If I am unable to accommodate your needs, I would be glad to provide additional counseling resources.

    I accept cash, debit, credit, and Venmo as forms of payment. Payment is due at the time of each session.