

For more than 25 years, I’ve worked with people who feel stuck—whether that’s because of anxiety, low mood, difficult relationships, or negative beliefs that make it hard to move forward. If life feels overwhelming or you’re just surviving day to day, you’re not alone.
I’ve spent much of my career supporting individuals and families through major life transitions, including years working overseas with military families. Because of that experience, I understand how disruptive change, stress, or trauma can feel—and how important it is to have the right support while navigating it.
Clients often describe me as compassionate, insightful, and encouraging. My goal is to help you get to the heart of what’s bothering you and rediscover a sense of direction, confidence, and possibility in your life.
My name is Melyssa Rivera-Lopez; a Forensic Licensed Clinician who graduated with high honors from Barry University. I have 20 + years of experience working in the field. Responsibilities include delivering evidence-based treatment options, assessments, diagnosis, recommendations pertaining to mental health status, and serving as an expert witness. Other functions include policy and program development, mediation, advocacy, and behavioral science research.
Life can be full of different stressors, which is where I can help. I will provide a warm, non-judgmental, safe, and interactive environment where we take on complex subjects, deep-seated traumas, or for you to say the things you've never told anyone before. I understand these are difficult subjects to speak about, and I will build a therapeutic relationship with you so that you feel strong enough to share. By doing this, we can form realistic and attainable goals to establish growth and promote healing. Remember that healing is not linear. The best gift you can give yourself is to master the chaos & find a way around it.
I am Dr. De Jesus Rivera, medical director at Self Improvement Psychiatry. We specialize in top notch, personalized, psychiatric services through telemedicine. I do a in depth evaluation without you feeling rushed. Together, we come up with a treatment plan that you feel comfortable with. We also have a HIPAA compliant texting system for easy communication and timely responses should any problems arise in between appointments.


Headway makes it easy to find support for your mental health — from finding the right provider, to understanding costs, to scheduling with ease.