About Dr. Melissa Neff
Melissa Neff, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, educator, speaker, and trainer based out of Missoula, MT. She has been in private practice since 2010.
Dr. Neff is an Othmer-method certified (OMC) provider who is also trained in traditional EEG band neurofeedback. Neurofeedback is a mind-body treatment aimed at regulating brain waves and decreasing cognitive, behavioral, emotional, social, and sensory dysregulation. Learn more about neurofeedback here.
Dr. Neff also specializes in conducting psychological evaluations for children and adults. She is an expert in the assessment of ADHD, anxiety, trauma, nonverbal learning disorder, and Autism. Dr. Neff has expertise in diagnosing, consulting, and providing education and training on the subject of Pathological Demand Avoidance, an atypical subtype of Autism. She was featured as the first guest on the Tilt! Parenting podcast to discuss PDA as a form of neurodivergence (Tilt Podcast on PDA).
Dr. Neff is known for her strengths-based and relational style, her passion for helping her clients to grow and thrive, and for providing ethical and compassionate care. She is known for seeing clients from a different perspective - from a holistic (mind/body), out-of-the-box, intuitive viewpoint that is based in a more humanistic, multimodal approach than the traditional medical model.
Dr. Neff received her BA with honors from The University Professors Program at Boston University. She received her MA and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from The University of Montana. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at Spokane Mental Health Center in Spokane, WA. Her doctoral dissertation was on the topic of intimate partner violence, and how survivors found strength, resilience, and posttraumatic growth following their experiences of abuse. Dr. Neff has worked in several community mental health centers and in a hospital setting, where she gained a strong respect and preference for the collaborative “treatment team” model of working with kids, adults, and families.
Dr. Neff is a faculty affiliate at University of Montana, where she has taught graduate-level courses on assessment and therapy for the Clinical and School Psychology Ph.D. programs. She has consulted for a range of community agencies locally and across the United States. She has participated in grant research aimed at equipping schools to treat children with trauma, and in the creation of a video game to help victims of domestic violence learn coping skills and gain the strength to leave their abusers.
Dr. Neff’s work has been featured on the Autism ADHD Podcast, Tilt Parenting, and Alive at Learn! podcasts.
