Meleah Miller, MA, LMFT
Meleah started college as a biology major, which led to studying in Ecuador (during a coup), sleeping in the Amazon rainforest and hiking around the Galapagos Islands. These were amazing experiences, yet she also noticed that on study breaks she read Psychology magazines for fun. Following a crossroads moment, she did what many college students do, and switched her major. Having enjoyed reading about the power of the brain for healing and growth she switched her major to Psychology.
Away from work, Meleah enjoys listening to music and podcasts, cooking new cuisines for Cookbook Club, gardening, reading and knitting. She especially likes caring for her Bird of Paradise plants, as they bring a taste of the tropics to Minnesota life. In the summer she can be found gardening, SUP’ing (stand up paddleboarding) or kayaking.
She is active in her community and co-hosts a Community Group with the purpose of building ultra- local relationships to connect neighbors. One Community Group activity she organized was a Clean-up the Park event. Meleah bought a kayak and paddled out to access trash in the pond. Together the Community Group members helped fill countless bags of recovered trash from the park. Since then, that park has been redeveloped with new housing, and is about to open up a newly built boardwalk where cyclists and walkers will be able to travel over the cleaned up area.
Meleah is active in her church and has sung in choir, helped with a Ukrainian Egg fundraiser, and co-teaches Sunday School with her teen son. As a women’s ministry leader she helped develop TABLE, a large group format based on Jenny Allen’s IF Table. She co- led TABLE, creating content of reflective questions and served there as a speaker to large groups. TABLE continues to be an opportunity for women to gather monthly over a meal for intentional conversation.
She is happy to be able to give back financially to the community, as 10% of her income from Backdoor Counseling goes to support nonprofits.
Education
Bethel University, BA majored in Psychology, minor in Biology
Adler Graduate School, MA in Adlerian Counseling and Psychotherapy, Marriage and Family Therapy
Continuing Education
Meleah has a passion for learning how to best serve her clients, and engages in bi-monthly Adlerian psychology training
Past trainings:
Trauma with Bessel van der Kolk. best-selling author of "The Body Keeps the Score"
Anxiety
Perfectionism
Shame and Blame
Telehealth
Adoption
Grief and Loss
Art Therapy
Play Therapy
Awards
Outstanding Thesis, "An Examination of the Adlerian View of Pampering and Neglect in Child-reading: A Cross Cultural Examination" Adler Graduate School
Memberships
- Minnesota Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
- North American Society of Adlerian Psychology
Eco-Conscious
As a little kid, I remember shopping with my mom at a store that had free newspapers for kids. These were special, and written for kids who felt passionately about taking care of the earth. Reading the headlines on the newest copy of that newspaper was a highlight of my shopping trip! After taking in the newest stories, I would round up the neighbor kids and tell them what I had read.
I read about how to make a positive impact with my daily actions
In college, I joined Restoration Project, an on campus organization to continue raising awareness and making healthy changes for our environment.
My commitment to care for our natural resources responsibly guides my professional work
Environmental Stewardship of Backdoor Counseling:
- Smaller carbon footprint
- Teletherapy in HIPPA-compliant Groffice (Garage+Office)
- Solar panels on roof of office and home
- Heat pump provides energy efficient heating/cooling only when needed
- Plants bring in nature and balance technology with examples of living growth