Veterinary Well-Being Coach

Helping the unsung heroes of healthcare

As a dog mom and former animal trainer, I noticed how veterinary professionals were overlooked during the COVID-19 pandemic. My heart went out to the friends I have in the industry who posted about the similar challenges faced, but without any of the same recognition or gratitude that was extended to human healthcare providers during that time.

While working in human healthcare on employee well-being teams in roles from clinician coach to health educator, I noticed the discrepancy between the amount of support resources available to human healthcare versus veterinary medicine.

I saw an opportunity to extend these similar resources to the veterinary industry - programs that have demonstrated how positive health habits can serve as a protective factor to burnout and help restore well-being. So now my mission is bringing lifestyle medicine to veterinary medicine to help enhance well-being, support resilience, and optimize performance in veterinary professionals!

Thanks to a friend in the vet industry, I applied and was accepted to the Start-Up Circle at VMX2022! This entire experience was a game changer for me, because I hadn't even officially begun offering services or programs - I was still VERY early on in the planning phase of my business!

But during that week, people that stopped by my booth expressed such sincere gratitude for my choice to dedicate my services to vet pros...it was such a validating experience for me and I was truly overwhelmed by the show of support and appreciation! It has been such a rewarding opportunity to work with so many vet teams since VMX 2022, and I hope to work with you too!

Now, I get to use these skills to help educate veterinary professionals about health promotion strategies, empower them to use their strengths to make changes, and provide experiences that engage them in the behavior change journey!

Using the evidence-based approaches of therapeutic lifestyle interventions, I guide veterinary professionals to reclaim their well-being of mind and body while learning to create positive health habits so they can THRIVE!

Professional

  • Clinical Psychology, M.A.

  • Certified Health & Well-Being Coach

  • Board Certified Lifestyle Medicine Professional

  • Health Educator at a hospital system of 23K+ employees

  • Former Clinician Well-Being Coach at a hospital system of 20K+ employees

  • Group Fitness Instructor

  • Exercise is Medicine Level 1 Certified Personal Trainer

  • Expert for Inlightened

  • Lake Nona Performance Club Medical Advisory Council

  • Secretary - Fitness and Medicine Member Interest Group, American College of Lifestyle Medicine

Skills/Experience

  • Public Speaking

  • Behavior Modification

  • Well-Being Coaching

  • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

  • Stress First Aid Facilitator

  • Positive Psychology

  • Lifestyle Medicine

  • Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i)

  • Motivational Interviewing

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

  • Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

  • Firefighter Culture Clinician Awareness Training

  • Optimizing Healthcare Using Positive Psychology

  • Physician and Health Professional Well-Being Course

Melyssa's Story

My love for animals started when I was only 4-years-old and visited SeaWorld San Antonio as a child. From that moment on, I declared I was going to work with marine mammals someday - and I did!

I was lucky enough to work as a marine mammal trainer with the Navy’s Marine Mammal Program and SeaWorld Orlando. I was grateful to work with numerous species of animals during my career and also worked alongside many dedicated humans who cared for these animals tirelessly around the clock.

My animal training career helped me develop effective public speaking skills (there’s nothing like having to improvise on microphone in front of thousands of people while working with animals…!), extensive knowledge of behavior modification (just FYI - I no longer use belly rubs or fish as reinforcement for my clients…), and a passion for inspiring people to change their lives to support wildlife conservation!

(That's me in the visor helping with a voluntary ultrasound!)

When the time came for me to make a career change, it was a bittersweet ending to my childhood dream come true as I began creating my new path to a new dream…even though I didn’t exactly know what that would look like. I left my animal training career to pursue my graduate degree in Clinical Psychology, and along the way I became a group fitness instructor, board certified lifestyle medicine professional, and certified health and well-being coach!

And I'm so grateful to have landed where I am today - getting to work with some incredible vet pros...like YOU!

Retired Therapy Dog

This is Buddy, my 12-year old golden lab mix and certified therapy dog! Food is his love language, he is obsessed with tennis balls, and he enjoys belly rubs while rolling in the grass!

He has a magical way of making people feel better and bringing smiles to those who are struggling...including myself! Buddy helped me through numerous bouts of burnout by reminding me that life is precious and to live in the moment, for the moment.

I felt that it would be selfish of me to keep his valuable reminders to myself...which is why I wanted to leave him a meaningful legacy in his senior doggo years by creating the digital Well-Being Buddy!