Melanie Smith majored in business administration and computer information systems in college and worked in computer consulting for 15 years. She loved the work and found it exciting, especially given the rapid-fire changes in technology during that time. She is the first to admit she was a typical Type A personality and thought she had no problem keeping up in the high-stress, fast-paced environment.

Then an injury changed her life. Her immune system was compromised and she says, “The Western medical system tried to kill me twice.” So Melanie sought out alternative healing methods and she got better. Still, she spent another year denying the voice inside her that told her to give up her hectic lifestyle and try out a new one. When she finally listened, she gave up everything she knew – job security, great income, a fabulous home, her primary relationship, friends, and family – to travel for a year, focusing on reclaiming her health, searching out educational opportunities, and finding her new home.

Melanie knew that she wanted to pursue a healing profession. In her travels, she discovered that the best massage school in the country was in Pinellas Park and she came to St. Petersburg in 1996 to check it out. The minute she experienced the “energies of the gulf,” she knew she had found her new home. “I’ve never looked back,” she says.

After practicing massage for several years, Melanie felt she wanted to do more to make a difference in people’s healthcare. She went back to school and earned a degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Melanie is state and nationally certified as an Acupuncture Physician and Doctor of Oriental Medicine. Now Melanie diagnoses and treats patients for a variety of conditions including auto-immune disorders, colds and flu, digestive disorders, stress and emotional disorders, arthritis, sciatica, musculoskeletal pain, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, shingles, and reproductive syndromes. She especially likes working in the field of women’s health and also offers Thermography scans at her north St. Petersburg office.

A mentor of Melanie’s is well-known Energy Medicine pioneer Donna Eden. Dr. Melanie teaches on Eden’s staff around the country. Locally she conducts a monthly Energy Medicine Study Group. In September Dr. Melanie facilitated a group on the first Energy Medicine Tour to China. The Missouri native loves to travel and has also accompanied groups to Mexico and Egypt.

Dr. Melanie finds her work very fulfilling and rewarding: “I get to see people’s lives change before my very eyes. I feel very blessed to do the work I’m doing.”