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Dr. Melissa Briggs-Phillips

About the Founder

Dr. Melissa Briggs-Phillips

Dr. Melissa Briggs-Phillips is a clinical psychologist more interested in what works than what's expected.

DA's office. Research Director. Executive Director. Chief of Staff. Innovation Center. Founder. The through-line? Building things that work.

In 2015 she founded Next Generation Behavioral Health to teach psychological flexibility: the capacity to behave forward toward your very best next—permission to feel, commitment to act. In 2023 she partnered with an anesthesiologist to open MiNDSET Integrated Ketamine Care, because she wants to be on the front edge of what actually works. Psychedelic therapies and interventional psychiatry are the most hopeful developments in mental health in years—and she intends to be part of it.

The Behave Forward Framework emerged from decades of clinical work and organizational leadership. The goal isn't comfort. It's capacity.

The Capacity Consortium is her latest build.

Her clients call her "Dr. M." She's a psychologist, partner, parent, and unapologetically pet-obsessed.

Get Involved

The Capacity Book Club

Share Deeply. Not Too Much. Mostly Listen.

Monthly reads that build capacity. We discuss books that challenge, provoke, and offer alternatives. Virtual options available.

Coming Soon

The Weekly Newsletter

Research, frameworks, and the conversations that matter.

A curated digest of what we're reading, thinking, and questioning. No spam. No fluff. Just the work.

Subscribe →

Founding Circle

Help shape what this becomes.

For clinicians, researchers, business leaders, and educators ready to build—not just follow. Limited to those ready to do the work.

Apply →

Work With Us

This isn't just theory. It's practice.

Clinical Practice

Therapy that builds capacity, not dependency. For individuals ready to do the work.

Coming Soon

Executive Coaching & Speaking

For organizations ready to lead differently. Keynotes, workshops, and long-term engagements.

Coming Soon

Frequently Asked Questions

What is The Capacity Consortium?

The Capacity Consortium is a gathering place for thought leaders that examines how therapeutic culture has impacted organizations, education, and public discourse. We bring together clinicians, business leaders, educators, and others who share concerns about the unintended consequences of well-intentioned psychological frameworks—and we propose evidence-based alternatives.

What does "Cultivating Capacity Over Comfort" mean?

It means prioritizing growth, resilience, and agency over the optimization of emotional comfort. Comfort isn't bad—but when it becomes the organizing principle of an organization or culture, it can inadvertently create fragility rather than strength. Capacity is built through challenge, not avoidance.

Is this a political organization?

No. The Capacity Consortium is intentionally non-partisan. Our critique of therapeutic culture overreach is not aligned with any political ideology. We believe these concerns cross the political spectrum and that thoughtful people from all backgrounds share them. When credible, non-partisan voices stay silent on these issues, the conversation gets captured by partisan extremes—and that serves no one.

What is the Behave Forward Framework?

The Behave Forward Framework is an evidence-based alternative that treats emotions as data rather than directives, views empathy as a cognitive skill rather than emotional absorption, and positions behavior as the human contract we have with each other. It was developed by clinical psychologist Dr. Melissa Briggs-Phillips and is grounded in decades of clinical practice and research.

How can I get involved?

There are three primary ways: Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for research and frameworks. Join The Capacity Book Club (The CBC) for monthly discussions. Or apply to the Founding Circle if you're a clinician, researcher, business leader, or educator ready to help shape this work.