Empath Healing and Wellness creates safe spaces for healing—particularly for mental-health healing and particularly for Utah’s diverse community. Empath’s focus on whole-person healing begins with exactly what its name suggests: meeting patients wherever they are on their journey to wellness.
Melanie Davis’ path to becoming a practitioner of holistic psychotherapy began long before her years of schooling and working in a group practice. Her mother was a social worker, and from an early age, Melanie witnessed the significant role that emotional intelligence plays in working with others especially when they are struggling. In founding Empath Healing and “In Utah, there is a huge population of people struggling with mental illness,” Melanie explains. “We have high rates of suicide in Utah and significantly high rates of depression that lead to suicide in children and adults. As with any region, there are unique cultural aspects here—and cultural oppressive behaviors—that are reflected in the mental-health struggles people face. I grew up here, and I understand these dynamics.” Empath Healing and Wellness is rooted in Utah but a constant stream of discoveries in the fields of psychology, psychotherapy, and medicine will keep Empath evolving as it continues to grow. Despite changes in the industry, Empath will remain a safe place for people to come and do the work they need to in order to lead happy lives. Wellness, Melanie sought a name that reflected the all-important skill of being in-tune with another’s emotional state and their story.
“Empath felt like the most authentic fit. That concept of Empathy is at the core of connecting with people on their mental-health journey,” Melanie says.
As she earned her degrees and license, Melanie focused primarily on treating anxiety and depression, but after years in a group practice, she saw a need for a more focused approach, one that addressed the needs of a diverse community, families and children of color, and families going through transracial adoptions. As someone who was adopted and is African-American, Melanie also saw that she was in a unique position to provide that focused care.
“I realized that for some groups of people looking to treat their anxiety, depression, or trauma, there weren’t spaces that they perceived as being safe,” Melanie says. “There are fantastic providers throughout the State of Utah, but sometimes people feel their therapist may not understand their story. Because feeling comfortable and safe is the first step toward healing, it’s so important that people—no matter their background or that of their therapist—find someone they can relate to.”
People of all races and backgrounds have found exactly that in Empath Healing and Wellness. Some even travel from Southern Utah or out-of-state to see Melanie, or her husband France, Empath’s medical director.
Empath Healing and Wellness’ provision of care is a bit like a Venn Diagram, where its circles include adoption, race, trauma, anxiety and depression, families and children, and Utah’s culture itself. The practice is as strong in one area as it is in another, and the overlap between those circles makes the practice unique and particularly suited to supporting the community.
“In Utah, there is a huge population of people struggling with mental illness,” Melanie explains. “We have high rates of suicide in Utah and significantly high rates of depression that lead to suicide in children and adults.
As with any region, there are unique cultural aspects here—and cultural oppressive behaviors—that are reflected in the mental-health struggles people face. I grew up here, and I understand these dynamics.”
Empath Healing and Wellness is rooted in Utah but a constant stream of discoveries in the fields of psychology, psychotherapy, and medicine will keep Empath evolving as it continues to grow. Despite changes in the industry, Empath will remain a safe place for people to come and do the work they need to in order to lead happy lives.
