We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alexis Melton a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexis, thanks for joining us today. How did you get your first job in the field that you practice in today?

I got into mental health because I needed to get off the ambulance due to medical reasons. While I was on an emergency psychiatric call, a therapist showed up on scene with law enforcement and watched the interaction go from high emotion to low emotion. For some reason that really sparked my interest and when we got to the emergency room I spoke with the therapist. She talked to me for a while and the rest was history. I applied at the school she graduated from and had every intention of just going through school with the end game of working for the county mental health services. Midway through school something I hit my rock bottom and discovered I was not well. Through my internship and work with Veterans and first responders, I discovered I was severely depressed and in burnout. It was through my work as a therapist in meeting others like me I found myself and healed.

Alexis, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My career began in 2001 in prehospital emergency medicine. In 2007, I graduated from Sam Houston State University with a BS in Criminal Justice, and in 2008, graduated from The Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service with an AAS in Mortuary Science. My goal was to work at the medical examiners office and helping families find answers to their loved ones death. Unfortunately the United States was in a recession and there were no jobs. I continued working on the ambulance until the mid twenty teens when I needed to make a career pivot because of health issues. One day we were dispatched a psychiatric emergency that forever changed my life. Not only did I find my passion for mental health in Veterans and first responders, but I found myself along the way.

My field of study is marriage and family therapy. As a MFT, I work from a 360 degree standpoint in helping individuals, couples and family work through their problems. The population I predominantly work with are Veterans and first responders. Through my work I achieved my goal of becoming a Crisis Response K9 handler to a beautiful Golden Retriever named Molly. Together we serve out community by responding to crisis calls and providing comfort in a therapeutic setting. In addition to the work we do in the community, Molly and I also work as embedded counselors for fire departments.

I grew as an individual, a wife, and a parent through my journey of becoming a therapist. I have been married to my firefighter husband for 19 years and we have one adult son.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

If I could go back and I would not change one thing. Little did I know it would take twenty years and a lot of failures for me to land exactly where I needed to be. It is because of hitting rock bottom I am able to help others and be the person they need me to be. It was not always easy, but it was worth it.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

What you see is what you get, I am always me and I do not apologize for who I am. When I meet new patients I always tell them if I am not the therapist for them that is okay, just let me know because I want the very best for them, it is not personal. You get a split second to make a connection with someone who is in crisis. When I work with people we are a team and we work through this together, they need to know they are no longer alone, we walk this road together. I feel by being genuine and authentic people resonate with that and can appreciate the honesty, even if we do not see eye to eye.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ironcladwellness.com

Image Credits

Alexis Melton