Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Melanie Joye Pherson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Melanie Joye, thanks for joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.
After a few years in private practice doing strictly fascia work & the Rolfing/Structural Integration 10 Series, I noticed a handful of clients returning with the same physical symptoms. I felt so frustrated that I couldn’t fix it! And then came a progression of events! A fellow bodyworker gently told me to stop working so hard & let the work do the work. The next day, an epiphany complete with a soft Morgan Freeman voice told me that I was no longer dealing with just physical problems. The day after that, someone handed me Bessel van der Kolk’s work, The Body Keeps the Score. The lily pads appeared & all I had to do was jump. I dove into how emotions can be stored in the body, where, when, why, & their bodies responded! The next week, I went to a chiropractor who did The Emergence Process. I had no idea what he was doing, I just knew I felt profoundly better. It took me a month to figure out that after 3 visits, the symptoms of OCD, anxiety, depression & general reactivity had plummeted. Shortly after, I flew out to Arizona to get certified by TEP’s creator. A few years later in May of 2022, I became a master practitioner of The Emergence Process. One of the things I love about being in the healing arts is that we tend to offer the tool that saved us; we want to help others the way we have been helped.
Melanie Joye, 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?
After a decade on the road in the music business & live event production, I turned to the healing arts after a life-altering mission trip to Rwanda. I chose massage therapy school at Natural Health Institute located inside of Cummins Station downtown Nashville. At the time, I was ill but couldn’t find anyone to help me. A friend pointed out our overlapping symptoms & to get tested for Hashimotos. When my bloodwork came back, the doctor told me she couldn’t believe I could get out of bed, much less work & go to school. I pressed on; I had to! Between school & work & doctor appointments, I paid close attention to auto immune disorders & the battery of symptoms & struggles we feel in our bodies. My fight for health drives me to help others with chronic pain, symptom overload, & the mental toll that takes.
My very last class in school was a myofascial class. Our instructor was going thru the Rolfing/Structural Integration 10 Series & we were able to observe his session. I knew I didn’t want to work in a spa; I loved physical therapy & considered sports medicine while in college. I watched the wonderful Mary Alice work & my whole body yelled that THIS WAS IT. So I graduated, got licensed, & promptly went back to school & got certified in fascia work.
A few years later comes my evolution story of physical symptoms… to a voice in my body… to the Body Keeps the Score… to The Emergence Process. I get to offer physical & emotional bodywork for people – and now even for pets! By summer, I’ll be certified in Animal Neuro Myofascial Release. Currently I offer fascia bodywork sessions, the Rolfing/Structural Integration 10 Series, The Emergence Process for people & pets, & ANMR sessions.
The Rolfing/Structural Integration 10 Series is a progression of 10 sessions, specifically designed to work from the superficial sleeve of the body (1-3) opening the deep fascia to the bone, creating length & space in the entire musculoskeletal system (4-7) to integration of the new upper & lower girdles. (8-10) Organize & align your entire system. Free restrictions and rebalance the structure and function of the body from the sleeve to the core.
Fascia Bodywork sessions are 60 & 90m sessions. Deep, therapeutic bodywork with lasting change for the entire body & nervous system.
The Emergence Process is a kinesiology tool to process conscious & subconscious trauma & emotional patterns. An entire nervous system treatment to remove embedded patterns & create healthier neuropathways. One client told me it was like going to therapy, but he didn’t have to tell me anything. He was tired of talking about his problems & TEP is his way of continuing to do the work. Another told me she feels like she’s getting a chiropractic adjustment for her soul. Somatic processing is imperative for trauma recovery. We bypass the ego by asking the body questions – the body has no reason to lie. By bringing the subconscious into the conscious, we can process it, release it, & allow the body to integrate new neuropathways & ditch the programming holding you back. These sessions can be in person or remote. Animals can benefit tremendously from this work as well. I’m currently the only TEP practitioner in TN!
Bodies are so weird & wonderful & capable of so much healing given proper time & resources. I’ve seen miracles happen during sessions – someone coming into their body for the first time since a terrible trauma, bodies coming to a place of deep relaxation & restoration. Huge emotional breakthroughs. Creative blocks lifted, weight gained or lost as the body balances into its strengths. Digestive problems disappearing. It goes on and on. It is a great joy in life to walk alongside people on their healing journeys. Healing is a life-long journey, so let’s begin!
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
The first 2 years of my practice, I was able to swap services with a local marketing agency & learned the basics about SEO, best practice, & how to wrestle the algorithm. (which keeps changing!) It was stellar guidance. I managed everything myself, which I do not recommend to any small biz owner. I had bills to pay & any assistance cost money that I did not have, so I worked a part time job while I worked overtime on my business. It never occurred to me to get a small business loan!
The most effective strategy for growing clientele ended up being a combination of dogged persistence, doing the work (both in person & laptopping for SEO growth) & time. I’ve had to develop systems to save myself from constant admin. It’s a constant learning curve of what you do want vs. what you don’t want. Working out of my home was wonderful, yet along came Covid & I had to punt. I’ve had many of the same clients for over a decade, & they have come right along on the journey.
I followed a lot of marketing rules for a few years – I strongly encourage a business coach as a guide. I don’t want to run a business, I just want to do my work, but I have to run a business so I can do my work! Following marketing best practices with consistent posting & emails served me well. My website gets plenty of hits, direct & organic. However, the biggest clientele growth came with word of mouth. There’s nothing like a first person recommendation from a trusted friend – it is golden. Friends telling friends on social media about a great experience brought great exposure. It can be so hard to ask for help, but 2-3 friends with large reaches posted about me a few times & I was inundated with new client requests.
Now I have the ability to use the tools as I’m able. I email clients once a month with updates. I post when I can for social media, and I’ve honed down activity to mainly one platform, Instagram. I don’t have the bandwidth to fight the algorithm, nor do I want to spend time there. I want to be spending time learning & honing my skills. Clients referring you to the people they love is such an honor.
Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?
I could wish I would have started in bodywork from the beginning, but it’s my progression through the years that brought me to the place I needed to be as a practitioner. It’s a Sliding Doors situation. If I had begun bodywork out of high school, I never would have experienced college, living in different states, touring the world – I probably would have stayed in my home state.
I won’t wish to alter the past and I am determined to continue my practice as long as I’m living – I wouldn’t want to do anything else. It’s a delight to work with others through the years – I have a few clients who have been with me since 2010!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.MelanieJoyeLMT.com
- Instagram: @melaniejoye.lmt
- Facebook: @MelanieJoyeLMT
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniepherson/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/melanie-joye-lmt-nashville
Image Credits
Photos of my dog Violet & I by Ethan Luck.
Logo is by James LaCroix & Wizardly.
Artwork by Erin Elise Laughlin.