Dr. Melanie Catlin Schaafsma draws from scholarly studies in social problems, social work, health, mental health, disabilities, marriage and family therapy, counseling, original research studying the characteristics of effective couple therapists, individual, couple and family therapy, university assistant professorship, and presentations at state and national conferences. She has also been very active conducting CEU trainings for social workers, police officers, nurses, EMTs, etc.
Her work spans such subjects as couple research, compassion fatigue, and the effects of cognitive dissonance and the impact of sexual assault (SA) law on the public understanding of SA as a criminal act. She worked with elderly patients in a geriatric psychiatric partial hospitalization program, and was the Executive Director over seven counties at a Coalition Against Sexual Assault agency.
As a clinical therapist for over 25 years, Dr. Schaafsma worked with couples and families, but also intensively with abused children. When this became known among attorneys in the area, she was approached to serve as an Expert Witness in court cases. Although this was unexpected, when it came to the safety of children, she could not say no.
Now it's time for her to share the experience and knowledge she's gained over her career with others through books, workbooks, journals, courses, and any other avenues she can find to help others. It's her way of showing love to "everyone out there I can reach".
While in court, doing presentations, trainings, or classes with juveniles for the probations office, she is Dr. Schaafsma. In the therapy room, she was simply Melanie. When teaching at universities, her students call her Dr. Mel.
To her friends, she's Melanie. To her kids, she's Mom and to her grandkids, she's Oma (her husband is a Nederlander who came over on the SS Rotterdam).
Dr. Mel loves her supportive husband, kids and grandkids, friends, and church. She enjoys walking in the snow while it's snowing (sometimes on snowshoes), kayaking, bird-watching (especially pileated woodpeckers), gardening, singing in chorale and church choir, going to the symphony and classic rock concerts, playing piano and last, but not least, her little Havamalt dog, Sadie.
