Melody Bacon
Melody Bacon, PhD is a clinical psychologist who has worked with individuals, couples and families over the past 20 years to help them learn the skills needed to create lasting and fulfilling relationships. Her goal is to help her clients create a relationship “toolbox” to help them successfully navigate the challenges of life. She believes that relationships offer us an opportunity to grow ourselves and to fulfill our innate potential for a creative and passionate life.
Dr. Bacon’s work in private practice has been informed by her years of experience in psychiatric and substance abuse treatment facilities where she not only assisted individuals in beginning the process of recovery, but also worked with the families to support that process.
In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Bacon is a professor who has taught in in graduate psychology programs for over 20 years. Her teaching career has assisted her in keeping up with the latest research in the field so that her insights into the field remain at the forefront of current thought. She and her husband, Ron, have led a study abroad program to Zurich, Switzerland focusing on Spirituality and Addiction, during which time students study at the CG Jung Institute, hear lecturers from professionals in the field of addiction treatment, and explore the culture and history of the region.
She is the author of two books, The Grace-Filled Divorce (2012) which exploresthe transformative potential of divorce while offering a path to successfully navigate the process and Family Therapy and the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders (2019) which focuses on the challenges and needs of families who have a loved one struggling with addiction.
Dr. Bacon has presented at numerous conferences and workshops throughout the United States including American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), International Family Therapy Association (IFTA), California Consortium of Addiction Program and Professionals (CCAPP) and the Raise Foundation Conference.
Ron's Story
“I first found out that I had the ability to fix problems that vexed my family members when as a child of 10 I was able to take apart my mother’s broken electric mixer, clean it, and put it back together and have it work again. Because money was tight for us my mother was very pleased and I felt successful.”
I had thought that I would become an archaeologist when I was young. I loved the idea of discovering things lost or forgotten and buried but valuable. My father was a geologist and perhaps the related field of archaeology was a natural outgrowth of being both like and different from him at the same time.
My father died in a work related accident when he was just 37 years old leaving my mother (32) to raise their four children, 8, 7, 5, and 3. I was the sensitive 5 year old. We all dealt with the shock, pain and loss in our own ways and largely alone. We learned not to speak about Dad in front of Mom as she would become tearful and intuitively we knew that we needed to help her to continue to function given that we lived across the country from any of our relatives from either side of the family.
I had thought that I would become an archaeologist when I was young. I loved the idea of discovering things lost or forgotten and buried but valuable. My father was a geologist and perhaps the related field of archaeology was a natural outgrowth of being both like and different from him at the same time.
My father died in a work related accident when he was just 37 years old leaving my mother (32) to raise their four children, 8, 7, 5, and 3. I was the sensitive 5 year old. We all dealt with the shock, pain and loss in our own ways and largely alone. We learned not to speak about Dad in front of Mom as she would become tearful and intuitively we knew that we needed to help her to continue to function given that we lived across the country from any of our relatives from either side of the family.
My mother had become distant from the organized religion of her upbringing and she immediately turned to it for support. We became active members of the Seventh-day Adventist church. Because I wondered about the eternal fate of my father I was quite interested in learning what the Bible had to say about this topic. While I often considered whether or not my Dad would be approving or not of certain of my activities/behaviors and so strove to perform in such a way as to make him proud, I wasn’t burdened by thinking that he was “watching” me or even watching over me. I chose to trust that God would do right by him and me in the Great Day of Judgment. Whether or not that played a significant role in my decision, I did chose to study theology and biblical languages when I began college in my preparation to become an SDA pastor. That journey led me to eventually go to the seminary where I completed an M.Div.
Pastors are often asked to solve home life/relationship issues and as a young man with very little life experience or training in dealing with those issues I determined to gain the training necessary to become a marriage and family therapist. I accomplished this in 1988 and after completing my requisite 3,000 of supervised clinical work and passing my state examinations became a CA licensed therapist in 1991.
I have now been licensed for over two decades and have worked with thousands of families to provide a clear, neutral place to think about issues that produce unhappiness. I have effective strategies for dealing with issues such as: marital infidelity, substance abuse, blended family challenges, sexual dissatisfaction and/or diminished desire, divorce/custody disputes and school/conduct challenges in children and teens. I also consult with those who love someone who has a substance use disorder whether it be a partner, a parent or concerned relative.
As a trained pastor I am comfortable dealing with spiritual issues from a Biblical perspective.
I treat the family as an emotional unit. I believe that when it comes to relationship dynamics, it takes two to keep things the same, and only one to change them. I work with motivated clients who examine their part in a relationship "dance" and focus on changing the part they play.
Marriage produces an intensity that eventually leads to despair, resignation, or growth. I have been particularly effective in presenting a different way of conceptualizing family dynamics to people who have reached an impasse with traditional therapeutic approaches and are interested in a different way to pursue the third option, also known as personal maturity.
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