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Life and Work with Melanie Smithson

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Melanie Smithson.

So, before we jump into specific questions about what you do, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was four years old when my parents took me to my first dance class. That’s all it took, I was hooked. Dance was my thing. All the way up to college when it was time to “get serious” and decide on a career path. After a few initial bumps, I followed my father’s footsteps and went into accounting, soon becoming a CPA on the fast track to partnership at a local firm. But I’d also returned to my first love and I’d find myself sitting at my desk with a mantra in my head: “I don’t want to be here, I want to be dancing.” It didn’t take long to heed the cry. I quit my job and started managing a dance studio in NYC for $50/week and all the dance classes I could take. Eventually, I found my way (via Santa Fe) to Naropa University where I received my master’s degree in Somatic Psychology, emphasis Dance/Movement Therapy.

I worked for several years doing movement and activities with the elderly (which I loved) before starting my own private psychotherapy practice and soon after, joining with my husband, an acupuncturist and energy medicine practitioner, to incorporate as Smithson Clinic.

Very soon after starting my private practice, a potential client responded to an ad I had placed in a local paper. She came in for a free consult and asked if I took insurance for payment. At the time, I did not. She was so invested in working with me that she rallied the insurance company to put me in network. This in itself was a miracle (I didn’t meet some of their requirements at the time), but they were willing to add me as they didn’t have a somatic psychotherapist in the area. I immediately started getting referrals from the insurance company and from there, my practice took off. The really crazy thing was that I never saw the woman again. I’m pretty sure she was an angel.

Since my graduation from Naropa in 1997, I have included multiple modalities to my practice, including EMDR, TFT, play therapy, Sedona Method releasing, past life and life between lives hypnotherapy. Having so many modalities makes it easy to work with almost anyone and keeps it interesting for me. Which I know is equally important. If your practitioner isn’t interested and having fun with the work, it’s highly unlikely you will get great results.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As a practitioner, it’s been a relatively smooth road. Clients have been generally plentiful, and I’ve learned to love the lulls as breathing space.

As a business owner, not so much. Having a background in accounting, I thought running a business would be easy. I had no idea how difficult managing employees and marketing would turn out to be. We spent thousands over the years on supposed experts, advertising, internet gurus and more, all claiming to have the magic potion that would make us famous.

I remember reading The E-Myth, by Michael Gerber many years ago and crying. Was it relief at the recognition of the challenges I was dealing with or the fear that I would never overcome them that produced the flood of emotion? I’m still not sure. I often reflect on the wisdom espoused in that book; basically, that you have to have multiple personalities to be a business owner. Switching from therapist to accountant to marketer to employer in one day was, and continues to be quite the challenge. With aging, I like to think I’ve learned a few things and become smarter in managing my time and energy. I’ve become better at discerning between what is really important to me and what others think should be important to me. I have also become (thanks in large part to Sedona releasing) become much less interested in the outcome, which frees me to take action.

I would suggest to any new business owner to find a mentor they resonate with. One that is able to support them not just in achieving their goals, but in managing the emotions and stress that are part of the process. I would also tell them to keep visible reminders of why they are doing what they are doing. Specifically, the aspect of the work that excites them. As Ekhart Tolle wrote in A New Earth, “sustained enthusiasm brings into existence a wave of creative energy, and all you have to do then is ‘ride the wave’. Tapping into enthusiasm, play and imagination will keep the path fun. And for most of us, “if it’s fun it gets done.”

Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way? Any advice for other women, particularly young women who are just starting their journey?
As Smithson Clinic, our mission is to restore vibrant health to body, mind, and spirit. We are committed to shifting the current paradigm of health care to a system that honors the wisdom of the body and treats the whole person. We are trained and licensed in a variety of modalities that support physical, mental and spiritual health.

As an individual practitioner, I get excited when my clients break free of the false beliefs about who they are and begin (or continue) to connect with the love and wisdom and light that lives within. I am so grateful to have studied with many wise beings who know we are not our thoughts, feelings or sensations. As we learn to break the identification with what we are not, we access freedom. As part of this journey, I believe humor is critically important. Laughter helps us to take ourselves less seriously and makes it easier to let go. What to say of having more fun with the journey!

I am known for my releasing groups (Sedona Method and A Course in Miracles), my Life Between Lives Sessions (based on the work of Michael Newton) and my ability to work with spiritual and mystical concepts in a grounded and integrated way. Body awareness continues to be a basic aspect of my work as a critical component of transformational work. I have worked with many clients that have studied new age concepts and are invested in living ‘spiritual lives’ but have become confused by concepts such as positive thinking and manifestation. While potentially useful, without the work of addressing subconscious beliefs and buried emotions, many are just talking a good talk and still suffering internally.

I’m pretty proud of my two books- Stress-Free in Thirty Seconds: A Slightly Irreverent Approach to Navigating Life’s Challenges (published and award-winning) and Reclaiming an Adult Relationship to Play (an unpublished thesis). To be able to capture many of the concepts I work with every day was quite the challenge. Hopefully, I’ll be up to it again soon!

What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
I believe the biggest barrier across the board is the minimization of soft skills (per Wikipedia- people skills, social skills, communication skills, character or personality traits, attitudes, career attributes, social intelligence and emotional intelligence quotients, among others, that enable people to navigate their environment, work well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals with complementing hard skills). These skills tend to be associated more with women than men and are often considered unimportant or even a hindrance in the corporate environment.

The cost of this is monumental to men and women alike. These skills are not only critical in living a balanced life, without them our performance in the corporate environment suffers, but our ability to achieve our goals is also diminished, we stress ourselves and others, and in general, live a less than satisfying life.

Pricing:

  • Somatic Psychotherapy and Sedona Method Coaching $150/50 minutes
  • Past Life Hypnotherapy $325/2 hours
  • Life Between Lives Spiritual Integration Hypnotherapy $650/4 hour session
  • Sedona Method Releasing Group $25/90 minutes
  • Letting Go Into a Course in Miracles Group by donation/90 minutes

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Andra Price, Melanie Smithson

Getting in touch: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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