Melissa Cunniffe is a nationally certified mental health counselor who works with children and adolescents who are experiencing issues such as anxiety and depression, grief and loss, artistic and athletic performance anxiety, adjustment disorder, and other issues related to emotional wellness. Melissa believes in a person-centered, strengths-based approach to counseling that provides clients with autonomy in a judgment free environment. A native New Yorker, Melissa moved to the Philadelphia suburbs in 2016 and has most recently relocated to Middletown. She holds two master’s degrees, one in elementary education from Fordham University (Bronx, N.Y.), and one in clinical mental health counseling from Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, N.C.). Prior to her work as a therapist, Melissa enjoyed a career in the world of fine art, and as a teacher, mentor, and tutor.

Melissa is married to Chris Bates, Associate Director of Admission at St. Andrew’s, and together they have three grown children: Eliza and Charlie Cunniffe and Nick Bates.

When Melissa is not working, she enjoys hiking, cooking, entertaining friends and family, reading and volunteering with Harlem Lacrosse, an organization with which she has been affiliated since 2013, most recently serving as chair of the advisory board for the Philadelphia chapter.