Melissa London

Melissa J. London, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, educator, and woman of color whose work serves as a practice of advocacy and liberation. As an Adjunct Professor at USF and Assistant Professor at UCSF, she brings extensive experience from a decade of experience working in specialty clinics for trauma and addiction at various Veterans Affairs hospitals, most recently as clinic coordinator of the longitudinal substance use care clinic at the San Francisco VA. Her expertise spans trauma, addiction, grief, and identity-based stress.

As a clinician-educator, Dr. London integrates evidence-based frameworks and empirically supported treatments, particularly Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, values-based, and mindfulness-based approaches. Her goal is to help individuals dismantle internalized shame and reclaim their inherent wisdom. She views the therapeutic process as a radical, relational act of resilience and power. Committed to values of inclusion and empowerment, Dr. London strives to provide a transformative space that honors each individual’s uniqueness while working toward collective liberation and healing.

• Substance use and addiction
• PTSD and complex trauma
• Grief

• Substance use and addiction
• PTSD, complex trauma, and grief
• Cultural variation in response to trauma, identity-based stress

• San Francisco VA Medical Center Postdoctoral Fellowship in Substance Use, PTSD, and Co-Occurring Disorders
• Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System Pre-Doctoral Internship
• Northern Illinois University, PhD in Clinical Psychology
• CUNY - Hunter College, BA in Psychology & Sociology

• Assistant Clinical Professor, Volunteer, Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship, University of California, San Francisco 
• Clinic Coordinator, Staff Psychologist, Addiction Recovery Treatment Services, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center
• Staff Psychologist, Addiction Recovery Treatment Services, VA Northern California Healthcare System

• San Francisco VA Medical Center, Employee of the Quarter, 2024
• San Francisco VA Medical Center, Psychologist of the Quarter, 2021
• Northern Illinois University, Carter G. Woodson Scholars Program Fellowship, 2015, 2016

• Hubbard, A.A., London, M.J., Endlsey, M. & Erazo, T. (2024). Race-based stress and trauma empowerment group. Group Approaches to Treating Traumatic Stress: A Clinical Handbook, 191.
• Valdez, C.E., London, M.J., Gregorich, S.E., & Lilly, M.M. (2021). Development and validation of the Trauma-Related Cognitions Scale. Plos one, 16(4).

• London, M. J., Mercer, M. M., & Lilly, M. M. (2017). Considering the impact of early trauma on coping and pathology to predict posttraumatic growth among 9-1-1 telecommunicators. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Advance online publication.

• Hessinger, J., London, M. J.,  & Baer, S. (2017) Evaluation of a shared decision-making intervention on the utilization of evidence-based psychotherapy in a VA outpatient PTSD clinic. Psychological Services. Advance online publication.