Melissa Kester, LMFT is the Founder and Director of Madison Marriage & Family Therapy, PC.  She provides therapy to individuals and couples in her Midtown, Manhattan.

Melissa named in the beginning of her therapeutic training how she experienced and witnessed emotional healing. Emotional and mental restoration was developed by individuals releasing their story into the world for another to bear witness, hold and care for. Therapy is seen as an opportunity to stretch, and to listen to our minds and bodies. In your space you will be able to slow down and reconnect with yourself. It is a haven of your own design, where you can create or adjust boundaries for protection and healing.

Melissa’€™s clinical approach is integrative, combining systemic, psychodynamic, and contemplative psychotherapy. She recognizes the unique qualities each individual possesses and believes in complimenting them with an appropriate clinical approach. Through open dialogue and active listening, Melissa nurtures an environment for constructive change.

Sarah Lebeck-Jobe, MS is a Limited Permit Marriage and Family Therapist at Madison Marriage and Family Therapy. She believes that therapy offers an avenue to meaningful growth for individuals and families and feels honored to accompany her clients on their journeys toward wellness.

Sarah has experience supporting grieving spouses, adult children, and families after their loss of a loved one. She is a skilled group facilitator, as she creates a safe, welcoming atmosphere where group members feel comfortable sharing their stories of love and loss with one another.  Sarah has also counseled adolescents during times of particular turmoil in their lives. Therapy can provide a setting for clients to address their experiences of complex issues of social justice such as race, ethnicity, and gender, as well as explore the normal difficulties of everyday life.

Sarah’s clinical approach combines strategic, humanistic, solution-focused, and narrative therapy theories. She helps her clients become aware of repetitive patterns of thought or behavior and helps clients alter those habitual cycles of interaction to heal relationships. Sarah plays an active role in the therapeutic relationship and adapts her style to best meet the present needs of each client.

Sarah holds a Masters in Counseling/Marriage and Family Therapy and is an active member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. Prior to becoming a therapist, Sarah was a successful business analyst. She decided to change careers because she wanted to help people live better lives in a more direct way.

In her spare time, Sarah enjoys reading and traveling far and near because both offer portals to learning about the unique ways people create their lives. Her books and her travels have shown her that the ways we express beauty, joy, and sorrow are endless.