About Me

As a bicultural woman, growing up has meant a lifetime of exploring who I am and what I stand for. While some values have always been clearer, others have taken a lot of intention to understand. Thankfully, I have flexibly found ways to live in alignment with my values and I believe it shows up in my work with clients. My approach to therapy is one of compassion, flexibility, and commitment. I only ask of my clients that which I am willing to do myself and I work with clear purpose to dignify the difficult work of therapy.

In holding a safe and trusting relationship, we can attend to suffering and help you to live a life that is meaningful and fulfilling. I hold strong values around social justice and freedom from oppression. I am committed to creating safe spaces that are affirming of all the identities you hold. As such, I believe in creating a collaborative partnership with you. I do this by showing up authentically in our work, sharing the knowledge and education I have acquired, and trusting you as the expert of your experience. I care deeply about this work and I honor the risk it takes to try something new. I am thankful you are here and I look forward to working with you.

About Me

education, Training

&

Treatment Approaches

Dr. Melissa Londoño Connally began her education at the University of North Texas (UNT) where she graduated with Distinguished Honors, her B.F.A. in Studio Art: Drawing and Painting, and her B.A. in Psychology. She continued at UNT to earn her M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, doing research on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), self-compassion, mindfulness, children & adolescents, and parenting. Her work in these areas has also led to her involvement in illustrating a children's book series on ACT processes, co-writing and illustrating a trauma-informed book for parents and children, and the development of parenting courses with G Parenting.

Dr. Connally has worked in a variety of treatment settings including community mental health centers and university counseling centers. Throughout her clinical experiences, Dr. Connally has trained to work with a range of mental health issues including depression, anxiety, identity development, and relationship concerns. Her specialization is in the treatment of trauma, eating disorders, diversity work, and substance use.

Dr. Connally's clinical expertise is in ACT, an empirically supported cognitive behavioral treatment that blends mindfulness, values, and acceptance. Although this is the primary treatment informing her work, Dr. Connally's approach to treatment is integrative to flexibly and thoughtfully incorporate other treatment approaches that address client concerns and needs. She is also informed in traditional Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Interpersonal, Motivational Interviewing (MI), Relational Cultural Therapy (RCT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia - (CBT-I), Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Family Systems, Feminist, expressive arts, and psychodynamic/insight-oriented approaches.

To Be With Me: A Trauma Healing Book for Parents and Children

Treatment Specializations

Anxiety
Depression
Trauma and abuse
Difficulties with self-esteem and shame
Relationship problems/dissatisfaction
Identity and multicultural Issues
Life Transitions (career, parenting, divorce)
Substance use/addiction
Disordered eating
Grief and loss
Stress management & coping skills

Qualifications

Licensure

Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies
Licensed Psychologist - PSY.0004870

Education

University of North Texas, Denton, Texas

Ph.D. Program: Clinical Psychology (APA accredited)

M.S. Program: Clinical Psychology (APA accredited)

B.A. Major: Psychology, magna cum laude

B.F.A. Major: Studio Art - Drawing and Painting, magna cum laude

Minor: Spanish

Distinguished Honors Scholar Award

Professional Experience

Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Private Practice & Consultation Services

Fort Collins, Colorado

Co-Owner of G Parenting, LLC

Parenting Education

Boulder, Colorado

Postdoctoral Fellowship
Colorado State University Health Network

Fort Collins, Colorado

Pre-Doctoral Psychology Internship

Colorado State University Health Network

Fort Collins, Colorado

Psychology Extern

University of Texas at Dallas Counseling Center

Richardson, Texas

Trauma Therapist

Denton County Friends of the Family

Denton, Texas

Outpatient Individual & Family Therapist and Psychological Evaluator

University of North Texas Psychology Clinic

Denton, Texas

Teaching Experience

Undergraduate Level Courses

Psychology of Women

Experimental Methods

Abnormal Child Psychology

General Psychology II

Psychology of Personality

Developmental Psychology

Guest Lecture

Masters Level Course

Marriage & Family Therapy

Publications

Connally, M. L. (co-author, illustrator) & Murrell, A. R. (2023). To Be With Me: A Trauma Healing Book for Parents and Children. Memphis, TN. Tif'eret Press.

Murrell, A. R. & Connally, M. L. (Illustrator). (2021). The Becca Epps Series on Bending Your Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors: Book 6. Becca Builds a Garden. Carbondale, IL: Shawnee Scientific Press.

Murrell, A. R. & Connally, M. L. (Illustrator). (2021). The Becca Epps Series on Bending Your Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors: Book 5. What Matters Most. Carbondale, IL: Shawnee Scientific Press.

Murrell, A. R. & Connally, M. L. (Illustrator). (2020). The Becca Epps Series on Bending Your Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors: Book 4. Bird on the Brain. Carbondale, IL: Shawnee Scientific Press.

Murrell, A. R. & Connally, M. L. (Illustrator). (2019). The Becca Epps Series on Bending Your Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors: Book 3. Hugging the Hard Stuff. Carbondale, IL: Shawnee Scientific Press.

Murrell, A. R. & Connally, M. L. (Illustrator). (2018). The Becca Epps Series on Bending Your Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors: Book 2. Becca Epps learns how to BE. Carbondale, IL: Shawnee Scientific Press.

Murrell, A. R. & Connally, M. L. (Illustrator). (2017). The Becca Epps Series on Bending Your Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors: Book 1. I see me: More than one tree. Carbondale, IL: Shawnee Scientific Press.

Murrell, A. R., Moyer, D. N., Connally, M. L., & Steinberg, D. S. (2017). Acceptance and commitment therapy training for professional psychology graduate students. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science.

Farnsworth, J., Sewell, K. W., Mannon, K. A., Connally, M. L., & Murrell, A. R. (2016). Exploration of caregiver behavior on fear of emotion, spirituality, and self-compassion. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 5, 160-168.

Gerber, M. M., Callahan, J. L., Moyer, D. M., Connally, M. L., Holtz, P. M., & Janis, B. M. (2016). Nepali Bhutanese refugees reap support through community gardening. International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation.

Murrell, A. R., Livheim, F., Moyer, D. N., Connally, M. L., & Dunham, K. J. (2016). Starting a family: Same-sex parenting. In A. Curtin & M. Skinta (Eds.). Mindfulness and Acceptance for Gender & Sexual Minorities. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.

Murrell, A. R., Al-Jabari, R., Moyer, D., Novamo, E., & Connally, M. L. (2014). An acceptance and commitment therapy approach to adolescent suicide. The International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy, 9, 41-46.

Murrell, A. R., Steinberg, D. S., Connally, M. L., Hulsey, T., & Hogan, E. (2014). Acting out to acting on: A preliminary investigation in youth with ADHD and co-morbid disorders. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24, 2174-2181. doi:10.1007/s10826-014-0020-7

Jenkins, S. R., Belanger, A. L., Connally, M. L., Boals, A., & Durón, K. (2013). First generation undergraduates and academic acculturative stress. Journal of College Counseling, 16, 129-142. doi:10.1002/j.2161-1882.2013.00032.x

Symposia

Lester, E. G., Moyer, D. M., Connally, M. L., & Murrell, A. R. (2016, November). Social justice 101: Applying fundamental psychological principles to encourage and facilitate advocacy in undergraduate psychology students. Paper presentation at the Texas Psychological Association Annual Conference. Austin, TX.

Hulsey, T., Connally, M. L., Moyer, D. N., Lincoln, T., & Murrell, A. R. (2016, June). Judgment on the bus goes round and round: Decreasing mental health stigma by expanding the context. Paper presentation at the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science Annual Convention, Seattle, WA.

Lester, E. G., Murrell, A. R., Connally, M. L., Lincoln, T. F., & Dunham, K. J, (November, 2015). The future of psychology practice in an era of health care reform: Special topics from student perspectives. 2015 Annual Convention for the Texas Psychological Association, San Antonio, TX.

Connally, M. L., Hulsey, T., Steinberg, D. S., Moyer. D. N., Sinha, A. & Murrell, A. R. (2015, May). The ultimate selfie: Flexible perspectives of the self following betrayal trauma

exposure. D. N. Moyer (Chair). Inside Stories: Building a Flexible Sense of Self in the Face of Trauma and Discrimination. Symposium conducted at the Association for Behavior Analysis International 39th Annual Convention, San Antonio, TX.

Moyer, D. N., Connally, M. L., Steinberg, D. S., & Murrell, A. R. (2015, March). Showing up for class again! Study 2 examining a doctoral level course on acceptance and commitment therapy. Paper presentation at the 1st Annual SE ACBS Chapter Conference, Lafayette, LA

Laurenzo, N., Lester, E. G., Connally, M. L., & Murrell, A. R. (2015, March). Dancer's flexibility: Exploring processes of psychological flexibility in adolescents. Paper presentation at the 1st Annual SE ACBS Chapter Conference, Lafayette, LA.

Moyer, D. N., Steinberg, D. S., Connally, M. L., & Murrell, A. R. (2014, June). Showing up for class: Examining a doctoral level course on acceptance and commitment therapy. Paper presentation at the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science Annual Convention, Minneapolis, MN.

Moyer, D. N., Connally, M. L., Sinha, A., & Murrell, A. R. (2014, May). Me, Myself, and My Ethnicity: Relationships among Mindfulness, Self-compassion, and Ethnic Identity Development. Presentation at the Association for Behavior Analysis International Annual Convention, Chicago, IL.

Al-Jabari, R., Murrell, A.R., Hulsey, T., Connally, M. L., & Laurenzo, N. (2014, May). Cognitive Flexibility and Psychological Flexibility: Methodological Issues. Presentation at the Association for Behavior Analysis International Annual Convention, Chicago, IL.

Drake, C.E., Keusch, A., & Connally, M. L. (2012, May). The Assessment of Valuing Among Undergraduates: Importance, Time, Difficulty, and Anxiety. M. L. Connally (Chair). Does it Matter How We Measure Values?: Evaluating and Modifying the PVQ and VLQ. Symposium conducted at the Association for Behavior Analysis International 38th Annual Convention, Seattle, Washington.

Workshops & Trainings Conducted

Walser, R., Payne, J., Sorrensen, D., Connally, M. L., Whooley, S., & McKelvie, M.(2021, May). Treating Trauma with ACT: An Introductory Training for MEND Participants. Training conducted for MEND. Online.

Connally, M. L. & Charbonneau, J. (2017, September). Self-Compassion as a tool for diversity dialogues. Workshop conducted for the Diversity Symposium at Colorado State University. Fort Collins, CO.

Leck, C. & Connally, M. L. (2017, August). Diversity training. Workshop conducted for the Key Communities of Colorado State University. Fort Collins, CO.

Connally, M. L. (2017, May). Self-compassion and values for sisterhood. Workshop conducted for the sorority Sigma Lambda Gamma, Incorporated. Fort Collins, CO.

Murrell, A. R. & Connally, M. L. (2017, May). Intro to ACT Workshop. Workshop conducted for professionals and graduate students. Fort Collins, CO.

Murrell, A. R. & Connally, M. L. (2015, April). Learning ACT: An experiential introduction to acceptance and commitment therapy. Workshop conducted for professionals and graduate students. Gainesville, TX.

Scherbarth, A., Murrell, A. R., Connally, M. L., & Moyer, D. N. (2015, March). Enhancing traditional behavioral parent training with ABA and ACT. Workshop at the first annual conference of the Southeastern Chapter of the Association of Behavioral Science, Lafayette, LA.

Connally, M. L., et al., (2014, June). Extracting the ACT: Using ACT themes in the arts for clinical work. Workshop at the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, Minneapolis, MN.

Peer-Reviewed Poster Presentations

Campbell, V. L., Garrett, K. L., Connally, M. L., & Barrett, S. (2016, August). Social cognitive career theory and academic success in African American college students. Presented at APA Annual Convention, Denver, CO.

Al-Jabari, R., Hulsey, T., Connally, M. L., Hogan, K. M., & Murrell, A. R. (2015, May). Stretching our understanding: The relationships among two types of flexibility and psychological symptoms. Presented at the Association for Behavior Analysis International 39th Annual Convention, San Antonio, TX.

Southard-Dobbs, S., Agtarap, S., Boals, A., Steinberg, D. S., Mannon, K. A., Williams, W., Brown, T., Forrest, L., Self, H., Cruze, R., Ekwulugo, O., Suri, N., Lopez, M. A., Connally, M. L., & Bedford, L. (2015, May). Experimentally reducing event centrality using a modified expressive writing intervention. Presented at the annual convention of the Association for Psychological Science, New York, NY.

Janis, B., Connally, M. L., Gerber, M. M., Holtz, P., & Callahan, J. L. (2014, October). Peer discrimination and academic self-concept stability in children of immigrants. Presented at the National Conference on Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Lawrence, KS.

Lester, E. G., Connally, M. L., & Murrell, A. R. (2013, November). Train your brain: Using behavior analysis to shape education bolstering EEG patterns. Presented at the second education conference for the Association of Behavior Analysis International, Chicago, IL.

Jenkins, S. R., Boals, A., Belanger, A., & Connally, M. L., (2011, March). Interpersonal Decentering, Narrative Coherence and Meaning-making in Expressive Writing Narratives. Accepted for presentation at the Society for Personality Assessment Annual Meeting, Boston, MA.

Banks, J. B., Morgan, H., Kraha, A., Belanger, A., Londoño, M., Rhoton, J., & Boals, A. (2010, May). The Impact of Stress on Executive Functioning. Presented at the annual convention of the Association for Psychological Science, Boston, MA.

Londoño, M., Banks, J. B., & Boals, A. (2009, October). Ego Depletion and Working Memory. Poster session presented at the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science annual conference, Dallas, TX.

Training & Treatment Approches

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