Advocacy Academy

Melanie has a Master’s degree and license in clinical counseling. She has over 10 years of experience in the counseling field. Melanie has individual and group clinical practice as well as experience in training and coaching. She specializes in organizational implementation of individual skill acquisition. Melanie developed, implemented, and facilitated a unique coaching system with a combination of 1:1 and group coaching sessions. Melanie is an expert in Motivational Interviewing and has been a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers since 2017. She has presented her coaching program at the MINT’s annual international forum and been asked to train small groups in varying levels of Motivational Interviewing. Melanie’s most recent work involves the development of a trauma informed online coaching program as an empowerment coach. She has had numerous speaking engagements on living a life of recovery through a 12 Step Program. Melanie has a particular focus on recovering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder abuse and addiction recovery.

Dr. Watson holds a Master of Education in Psychological Counseling from Columbia University, a Doctorate in Health Policy and Social Justice from Drexel University, and a Certificate of Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University. She is the President and Founder of The Advocacy Academy, which is a consulting company focused on the development of skilled victim and family advocates to reduce violence around the world. Through her work with The Advocacy Academy, she has conducted educational workshops in 32 states, 8 countries, and across many fields: healthcare, education, social services, financial advising, victim advocacy, corrections, and leadership. On average, Dr. Watson speaks to 10,000 live audience members each year. She is an on-going consultant to the Department of Defense, the NFL, and to major television networks. In addition to her speaking and consulting work, Dr. Watson sits on the Board of Directors for The Lady Parts Collective, which is a Los Angeles-based theater company specializing in the development of work relevant to women in the United States. She is also a Director Emeritus for the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers. Dr. Watson is the author of three books: (1) The Embodied Advocate, (2) Motivational Interviewing for Victim Advocates, and (3) Only Trying to Help, which is also the name of her podcast, available at www.OnlyTryingToHelp.com.