Hidden Gems: Meet Melissa Dittmer of Return To Wellness LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Dittmer.

Hi Melissa, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Thank you so much for the opportunity to share my story! I’ve been an LMBT for about 14 years and started Return To Wellness LLC almost 7 years ago. At the time, I was only beginning to recognize my abilities as a Reiki Master, massage therapist, and healer. Since then, I’ve continued my healing journey so that the traumas I’ve survived don’t become my identity. This perspective has translated to my practice. I educate my clients about how the body works, how their posture and habits are contributing to the pain and discomfort they are experiencing, and often give them homework to do between appointments. I recognize that people who experience chronic pain often lose body awareness as they dissociate from their pain and that there’s often underlying emotional and energetic trauma. Dissociating from pain, whether physical or emotional, perpetuates imbalances and suffering. My website now has a Referrals & Resources page with trauma-focused mental health professionals, a somatic movement professional, books on recovery from trauma, and more. It is magical to watch a new client transform from tired, cranky, and frustrated to smiling and happy within less than 2 hours simply because the pain they’ve been living with has been reduced. It is a blessing to witness them begin to have hope again. Helping my clients return to wellness holistically is my number one goal.

Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
The road has had some twists and turns. Like many others, the pandemic forced me to close for several months. My son and I also moved in with my partner, and I’ve had some personal/family issues to process, which significantly impacted my mental health. I don’t know anyone for whom family-of-origin issues are fun or easy to tackle. In the process, I discovered I had no executive functioning skills, which translated to time blindness, difficulty making and achieving goals, horrible relationship with schedules, poor organizational skills, typical neurodivergent issues. I started working with an executive functioning coach near the end of last summer. I’m building those skills and discovering other pieces which need tending to. Now I’m ready to return to therapy—life’s growing pains!

As you know, we’re big fans of Return To Wellness LLC. What can you tell our readers who might need to be more familiar with the brand?
Return To Wellness LLC specializes in trauma-informed myofascial release, orthopedic and medical massage, and bodywork therapies. I also offer the AromaTouch Technique, reiki, and Chakra Healing and Alignment sessions. I’m known for finding the source of people’s pain and releasing the tissues involved.

What sets me apart from others? I take my time reviewing client intakes, utilize active listening skills, educate my people, follow pain patterns, and listen to what each body is trying to communicate, all from a trauma-informed perspective. Being trauma-informed means that the massage therapist is actively processing and healing their own trauma, employs appropriate boundaries and active listening skills, is familiar with mental health issues and medications, asks about potential triggers that might come up during sessions, and understands the difference between handling vs. processing psychological information which gives the client a safe space for somatic releases.

My job is to handle psychological information, which means reflecting, validating, and reminding the client to take the memory or realization to their therapist. This is part of why my tagline is “Release your pain and return to wellness.”

How do you define success?
My definition of success has changed over the years. Initially, success was building my reputation within the community. Today, most of my new clients are referrals from their friends, co-workers, or Facebook groups. I know the population of people needing trauma-informed bodywork is pretty significant, and the number of massage therapists who understand what “trauma-informed” means is small, so I created a continuing education class to provide local massage therapists the opportunity to serve trauma survivors better. My ultimate goal is to create a trauma-informed multi-therapist practice, including offices for trauma-focused mental health professionals. This would give survivors completely different healing and continuity of care which seems to be missing today.

Another important definition of success has been to make my office a safe space for marginalized folx. Racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of bigotry cause trauma. While I haven’t experienced those forms of trauma, having empathy, holding space, validating any feelings or experiences they may share, and acknowledging the impact of their trauma, have allowed my BIPOC, disabled, and LGBTQI+ clients to feel safe, accepted, and nurtured on my table.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.returntowellnessnc.com
• Facebook: @returntowellnessllc

Image Credits
Photos of me only: (my friend) Teresa Studios, Teresa Porter