Guest Contributor: Melanie Melton
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Author, Business Owner, and Ordained Minister.
What wellness strategies do you think should be given more attention within the Black community? Are there any reasons why you think they are not given more attention?
Body-based skills should be given more attention within the Black community. Effective teaching and application help us reconnect with ourselves, get to know ourselves better, and learn ways to improve our mental wellness. Many people in the Black community use body-based skills naturally. They just haven't yet been taught that they are actually skills, or how to intentionally use them in a way that helps their wellness.
How do you make time for your own wellness and self-care?
I believe that I, and we all, are worthy of love, wellness, and self-care. Self-care is a requirement for me, as I honor myself each day. Within each day, I intentionally have moments of self-care first thing in the morning, around lunchtime, and extended time each evening.
Within each week, I schedule at least one "I choose" day, where I decide in the moment or beforehand how I will spend my time. Incorporating self-care and wellness time within my schedule, just like every other task, is how I make space for it each day.
What are your top 5 favorite wellness and self-care strategies?
Time outdoors
Prayer
Dancing
Writing
Drinking warm tea
Guest Contributor
Melanie Melton, a native of Texas, is committed and passionate about supporting others as they walk out their journey of healing from traumatic events and flourishing post-trauma. Melanie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Family Community Services from East Carolina University and a Master of Marriage Family Therapy degree from Appalachian State University. She also earned her Master of Divinity degree from Shaw University Divinity School and a Master of Theology degree from Duke Divinity School. Melanie is a North Carolina licensed marriage and family therapist, author, business owner, and ordained minister. She has published a book, Queen, Let’s Heal: Seven Day Devotional for Black Women along with a companion journal. https://www.amazon.com/author/melanie-melton
She is the founder and owner of Now, Healing Begins PLLC, which provides mental health and spiritual wellness education, especially to the black community. NHB includes Queen- a program that is specifically designed to provide mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness services to Black women, and the program, Clergy HEAL, which provides wellness services for clergy. https://nowhealingbegins.com/
Melanie currently focuses on facilitating workshops and wellness educational spaces through Now, Healing Begins, providing outpatient therapy through a local group private practice, and continuing to write and research on mental health-including trauma, spirituality, and how to heal as individuals and collectively in the Black community. Connect with Melanie and learn more about her work at: https://linktr.ee/melaniemelton, by contacting her at: bookmelaniemelton@gmail.com or by viewing her business at www.nowhealingbegins.com
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