About Melissa
My career as therapist, coach, teacher, and practitioner of somatic methods began in 1999. I was pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Acting. The voice and movement classes challenged me. I struggled to understand, and integrate, a new way of experiencing and relating in the world. I decided to lean into that struggle and, as a result, I now know how to help others transform struggle into ease.I began this work because I started having anxiety attacks. Luckily, it was recommended that I talk to a therapist. Every exercise she gave me was precisely what I was learning in Voice and Movement class. She explained that people have anxiety attacks because they forget to breathe. And that began my process of learning about developmental trauma and how it gets stored and stuck in the body. I worked on opening my breath, reconnecting to my body, regaining presence and authenticity. I began to be able to trust the flow of life again.
Maybe you can relate? I used to be very good at looking like everything was fine when it was anything but. I, like many, had learned to survive in this world. I learned not to speak my truth for fear of being abandoned or ridiculed. I was often told I had a “good voice”. I appeared confident. Luckily, I’ve had the best teachers and I didn’t fool them. I was masking my real experience and my body was taking a toll. (Or maybe you experience the opposite – feeling withdrawn and disconnected as a default mode.)
In any case I got by, and I got by well. So why change? Because, eventually, I started receiving clear signs that “getting by” was becoming detrimental to my physical, mental, and emotional health. I wanted a better life for myself. And I saw a path towards achieving that life.
If this sounds familiar, or resonates in any way, I want you to know you aren’t alone. I’ve worked with master teachers, taught in top rated universities, have become certified in mindfulness based and somatic modalities, worked with high achieving professionals and a-list actors, with cancer survivors and patients, neurodivergent clients, therapists and counselors, domestic abuse survivors, veterans, people experiencing total loss of vocal use, and more. 
I aid people who are in the midst of transformation. We address the physical, mental, and emotional components of the human experience. We lead with compassion.
I have a strong spiritual practice that is rooted in shamanic practice and Buddhism. I’ve been lucid dreaming since I was a young child and love dreamwork. I meditate daily and practice mindfulness as a way of living. I can use Human Design and other astrology based systems to understand the way you organize your world, if that is something you relate to. I am an artist and understand the pressures unique to being a creative person in our Western culture. I’m an animal lover and understand they are family.
I was certified as an Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework in August of 2004, have taken workshop intensives in Knight-Thompson Speechwork, and have trained in Body-Mind Centering (somatic experiencing) since the summer of 2012. I am a certified Yoga Instructor (200 hr), Meditation Instructor (300 hr), Reiki Master Teacher, Advanced Pranic Healing Practitioner, and Sound Therapist. I am a provisionally licensed therapist (LPC-A supervised by Sarah Osmer, LPC-S) and graduated from Naropa University in their Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling program. 
If you’re looking for help with dialects or are curious about the connection between somatic therapy and speech, I’m skilled in Knight-Thompson Speechwork . As a coach, I have worked in TV and film, most notably as the Dialect Coach for the AMC series The Son, starring Pierce Brosnan, The Chosen (Hulu), and Prey (Showtime).
I use techniques of voice, sound, somatic movement, mindfulness, breath management and freedom, yoga, creative visualization, and applied physiology. As a therapist I utilize somatic mindfulness based theories to help clients heal. I’ve also helped people recover from Selective Mutism and reconnect to long abandoned parts of themselves through the exploration of language and speech. If you are looking for a compassionate, and knowledgeable, guide to assist you in achieving your goals of showing up in this world authentically, then let’s chat. This is precisely my passion and I am looking forward to beginning work with you!
Some notable teachers include: Catherine Fitzmaurice, Bonnie Bainbridge-Cohen, Phil Thompson, Dudley Knight, Patsy Rodenburg, Nina Martin, Ralf Jaroschinski, Alicia Grayson, Margery Segal, Saul Kotzubei, Donna Snow, Lynne Innerst, David Howey, Joan Melton, Master Steven Co, and many more.