About Dr. Sara Meldon
Treatment Approach
Dr. Meldon specializes in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and has advanced training in other evidence-based treatment approaches including Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention, Prolonged Exposure for PTSD, Behavioral Activation for depression, and mindfulness-based treatments. Dr. Meldon uses her knowledge of evidence-based interventions to tailor treatment to each client’s individual needs, understanding that those needs may change over time.
Dr. Meldon has a special interest in evidence-based treatments for borderline personality disorder (BPD). She has worked at premier treatment centers for BPD including McLean Hospital’s Gunderson Residence. Dr. Meldon has had the privilege of training with experts who have instilled a value of treating BPD clients with a level of respect and knowledge that is at times missing in usual mental health care. This value has been a cornerstone of Dr. Meldon’s practice throughout her career. She feels honored when clients choose to work with her to build their life worth living.
Dr. Meldon focuses on teaching clients practical skills they can apply daily to improve their lives. Dr. Meldon’s approach to treatment is direct, compassionate, and warm. She sees therapy as a collaboration between therapist and client who agree on goals and work hard together to achieve them. She strives to provide a compassionate and validating environment to best support her clients.
In Dr. Meldon’s current practice, she sees adults (18+) with a range of concerns that can be addressed with DBT and CBT treatment including mood and anxiety disorders, personality disorders, career and academic stress, relationship issues, and trauma. Dr. Meldon has a special interest in working with college students and young professionals, as well as new parents and individuals going through life transitions. In her practice, Dr. Meldon provides specialized, tailored treatment to meet each client’s unique needs. She collaborates with clients’ treatment teams (psychiatrists, group leaders, other providers) to ensure comprehensive mental health care.
Education, Training and Expertise
Dr. Meldon received her BA from Wheaton College in Massachusetts. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP) at Rutgers University. She received advanced training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) under the expert supervision of Dr. Shireen Rizvi at the DBT-RU research lab and completed Behavioral Tech’s DBT intensive training. Her doctoral research focused on novel supervision strategies aimed to train student clinicians to deliver DBT adherently. Dr. Meldon completed her pre-doctoral internship at Montefiore Medical Center/ Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Wake Kendall Group in Washington, DC.
Prior to moving to Massachusetts and starting Sara Meldon Psychology, Dr. Meldon worked at the Wake Kendall Group serving in several roles including individual therapist, group leader, intake coordinator and supervision group co-leader for their DBT-LBC certified DBT program. Dr. Meldon also served as Adjunct Professor at American University teaching and supervising PhD candidates in their clinical psychology doctoral program.
Dr. Meldon has presented at national and international professional conferences on topics including Borderline Personality Disorder, non-suicidal self-injury and DBT treatment. She has published articles and case studies in professional journals on similar topics. Dr. Meldon is a member of the Massachusetts Psychological Association.