Melissa Fulgieri LCSW LLC

Melissa Fulgieri LCSW LLC Licensed clinical social worker providing therapy to New Yorkers and consulting services to professionals and corporations worldwide.

One of my favorite parts of being a therapist is having the honor of walking my clients “back home to themselves,” as Ra...
01/15/2026

One of my favorite parts of being a therapist is having the honor of walking my clients “back home to themselves,” as Ram Dass so beautifully first said.

We may not know where that will lead, but I am so grateful to be along the way for so many human’s journeys.

I’ve opened up slots in my practice for individuals and couples, use the link in my bio to book your free consult or visit www.melissafulgieri.com to learn more.

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This photo was taken by the talented who I met during a particular season in the in betweens. I will always remember our photo shoot that crisp fall day in Flatbush, where her lens helped me on my own journey back home.

Wrote an ode to great supervisors. The ones who see us, challenge us, and shepherd us through this wild career. I’m grat...
08/27/2025

Wrote an ode to great supervisors. The ones who see us, challenge us, and shepherd us through this wild career. I’m grateful for you all 🙏🏻

Yes, my prom night tormentors now work in mental health.Yes, I understand why.Because I’ve been a harm-doer too: unheale...
08/14/2025

Yes, my prom night tormentors now work in mental health.

Yes, I understand why.

Because I’ve been a harm-doer too: unhealed, over-promoted, and surviving systems that reward burn out and self abandonment.

This is the story of leaving those systems, rebuilding my leadership on my own terms, and finding the courage to stop pouring from an empty cup.

Read it here: malg182.substack.com

New on substack, a personal poem: Grief and her cousin JoyThis one’s for the people who laugh in hospital hallways, find...
08/05/2025

New on substack, a personal poem: Grief and her cousin Joy

This one’s for the people who laugh in hospital hallways, find punchlines at funerals and pass the time in psych wards with levity and grace.

I grew up interloping in the kinds of places no one brags about: nursing homes, ICUs, shelters, jail. And somehow—always—there was laughter.

This is a love letter to that kind of laughter. The inappropriate, irreverent kind that keeps you tethered to life when everything feels like it’s slipping.

We talk a lot about grief. We don’t talk enough about the joy, humanity and beauty that sneaks in beside it.

Read the full piece on substack: malg182.substack.com

For a lot of my life, I believe that being chosen was the ultimate sign of worth.But in the wake of a major life transit...
07/28/2025

For a lot of my life, I believe that being chosen was the ultimate sign of worth.

But in the wake of a major life transition, something shifted. I found myself living alone for the first time ever, and I was shocked to realized I felt more peaceful, joyful, and creatively alive than I ever had before.

It wasn’t because I had given up on love. It was because I stopped abandoning myself to pursue it.

This piece explores the quiet power of choosing yourself, the societal myths that keep women tethered to unsustainable dynamics, and the liberating truth that being alone is not a failure - it can be a return.

I wrote this for every woman who’s been told she’s expecting too much or running out of time.

She’s not, she just might be running back to who she really is.

Read the full essay on substack.

I didn’t even know what an artist residency was a few months ago.Then I found myself in a medieval Sardinian town—surrou...
06/23/2025

I didn’t even know what an artist residency was a few months ago.

Then I found myself in a medieval Sardinian town—surrounded by orange groves and strangers-turned-kindreds—leading a workshop I hadn’t planned on giving, called To Jump in the Dark.
That’s what creativity feels like, isn’t it? Terrifying. Tender. Like leaping into the unknown, hoping the ground rises up to meet you.

This new essay is about the fear that never fully goes away—and why I choose to create anyway.
It’s for anyone who’s ever asked themselves:
“Who do I think I am?”
“What if I get it wrong?”
“What if they don’t understand me?”

It’s about blurts and body awareness, making art in community, reclaiming space from capitalism and perfectionism, and honoring the fertile ground your creativity needs to thrive.

🕯️Link in bio to read: How to Express Creativity Despite Fear.

Or head to melissafulgieri.substack.com

Tag a friend who’s in the “living part” of their creative process. They’ll get it. 🤍

🧠 Can a robot really hold your pain?I’m a licensed therapist—and I let ChatGPT try to be mine.Not as a gimmick, but as a...
06/20/2025

🧠 Can a robot really hold your pain?

I’m a licensed therapist—and I let ChatGPT try to be mine.
Not as a gimmick, but as a genuine experiment in curiosity, connection, and what healing still requires.

Spoiler: it was surprisingly good... but not good enough.

In an age where AI is creeping into every corner of our lives—including our most tender moments—I wanted to find out:
Can it really replace a human therapist?

The full story is live. Link in bio. I’d love to know what you think.

He says all the right things.He calls himself a feminist.He name-drops attachment theory on date 1.This piece is for the...
06/17/2025

He says all the right things.
He calls himself a feminist.
He name-drops attachment theory on date 1.

This piece is for the women who have felt the gaslight flicker inside relationships that were *technically* progressive and still emotionally exhausting.

It’s not in your head. It’s in the contradiction.

Link in bio. Or go to: malg182.substack.com

“Working with men isn’t a specialization. It’s survival.”I wrote this piece for the women who’ve done too much for too l...
06/12/2025

“Working with men isn’t a specialization. It’s survival.”
I wrote this piece for the women who’ve done too much for too long, and are finally learning to do less, and still feel worthy.
It’s for the therapists, the friends, the lovers, the daughters.
It’s about emotional labor, and what it means to stop performing intimacy and start requiring reciprocity.
Read it on Substack—link in bio.

06/10/2025

Thank you so much for having me on your show, . It was a pleasure to talk to you about my new book, Couples Therapy Activity Book along with our views on relationships, what makes a difference in marriage, how to fight better and how I took inspiration from management techniques (among other places) to help create this book. Link in bio to check out the full episode.

Narcissistic abuse doesn’t just happen in romantic relationships. It can happen anywhere power is consolidated and accou...
06/10/2025

Narcissistic abuse doesn’t just happen in romantic relationships. It can happen anywhere power is consolidated and accountability is avoided — including corporate environments.

Last month, a company sent out a mass email in response to allegations made about its safety practices. The email was a masterclass in DARVO: Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender.

It gaslit customers, weaponize tone, minimized harm. An interpersonal approach I see in session every single week.

This kind of corporate speak often masquerades as transparency. But to those of us trained to spot abuse tactics, it rings alarm bells.

Read my latest post where I unpack these tactics, line by line.

Malg182.substack.com

I used to ask every social worker I interviewed one question:
“Why are people poor?”Their answer told me everything I ne...
05/21/2025

I used to ask every social worker I interviewed one question:

“Why are people poor?”

Their answer told me everything I needed to know: about their values, their privilege, their blind spots, and whether or not they had any business serving marginalized communities.

Now, when I date men, I ask a different version of the same question:

“What do you think of the Kardashians?”

I’m not a fan, I don’t keep up. But that’s not the point.

I’m watching for whether they recognize a wildly successful, strategic, and powerful matriarchal empire—or if they casually disparage women for being “famous for nothing.”

That answer tells me everything I need to know.

Because how someone speaks about power—especially when it’s in the hands of women or poor people or Black and brown folks—reveals more than they think.

And for the record: yes, we can critique the systems they thrive in.

But if your first instinct is to sneer, not study—you’re showing me your default setting.

And I’ve got no time for default settings.

Address

41 Union Square West
New York, NY
10003

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 7pm
Tuesday 9am - 7pm
Wednesday 9am - 7pm
Thursday 9am - 7pm
Friday 9am - 4pm

Telephone

+14752152477

Website

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