Meet Melinda Lericos

Today we’d like to introduce you to Melinda Lericos.

Hi Melinda, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My journey to being a therapist specializing in eating disorders and body image has been a combination of personal experiences and professional growth. I knew from a young age that I wanted to work alongside people needing support to heal; it took me a while to understand what the would look like. I was discouraged from pursuing counseling in high school so I started college aiming for a degree and career in pharmacy. I spent the next several years working at a local retail pharmacy while completing my degree in Dietetics. As I was researching pharmacy schools and writing my admission essays, I took a deep look in and decided that was not the route that best used my skills and experiences. Having worked through my own trauma recovery, healing my relationship with food and body, and obtaining a BS in Dietetics the most natural next step for me was to get my counseling degree and work in this area; giving back in a way that so deeply impacted my own life.

From there, I used my time in graduate school to aid in research related to eating disorder behaviors within minority populations such as women of color and the LGBTQ+ community. While completing an internship at an eating disorder treatment program. I went on to become the program director of that center and later moved into full-time private practice when I became pregnant in 2018.

Now, I have a group practice, Opal KC. Our providers are all trained in eating disorders, with experiences at treatment center levels of care. We each work within specialty areas from there including kids 2+, teens, LGBTQ+, racial identity development, sexual trauma, and pregnancy / perinatal care. We all believe in the body trust model and work from a health at every size lens which promotes a positive body relationship for all individuals and ultimately decreases the shame and anxiety we all experience.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Reflecting back on my journey, there have been struggles along the way, but with each step and each struggle comes the right supportive people and mentors to guide and heal. I would love to share a few words that have helped me over the years: “your reputation speaks for itself” – meaning if we do good work as healers and we impact other’s lives, then people talk. We don’t have to be in a constant state of hustle or scarcity brain, we just have to show up, love well, and do good work. I hold this statement near me daily and I am grateful for the other healers who I have had the privilege to walk beside who also embody this sentiment.

For me, It is about meeting the person in front of me where they are, focusing on that person’s inner wisdom, strengths, and capabilities. Helping that person learn to trust in themselves and their body again. Being the calm, consistent person in the room allowing space for whatever comes up to just simply be. When I can do this, I know that everything else with my business will fall into the places it needs to for more growth and healing to happen.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The thing I love the most about my work is that it rarely feels like “work”. It is a privilege every single day, with every person, to hear their story, witness their emotions, and provide a “next step” towards the goals they have. People are so damn resilient if we just take the time to hear their stories.

I specialize in eating disorders; within that realm I love addressing the way our mental health and relationship to body intertwine. I love to address body image concerns, sexual trauma recovery, and pregnancy/perinatal care. Each of these experiences are prime traumas or life transitions that change the way a person lives and relates to their body. When we are able to heal our relationship with ourselves and our bodies, trust is created. When we trust in ourselves, we automatically heal wounds, decrease anxiety, and set healthy boundaries in our relationships. It is not an easy journey but it is a worthwhile one to embark on.

I am most proud of the work my clients do. The ways they challenge themselves every week to go deep, be vulnerable, trust harded, and heal. I am proud to be a part of this process and bear witness to so much growth.

There are a few things that set me apart from some eating disorder therapists. One would be my focus on using a health at every size lens. I will never encourage weight loss, focus on health as a point of morality, assume that health is obtainable for all, or shame you for the choices you make with your body. Secondly, I am constantly doing my own work. From examining how my privileges show up in the world and the therapy space to create a safer and inclusive environment to engaging in my own therapy and keeping current with the newest therapy techniques. Lastly, I’ve been there. I have been the girl asking for the rape kit, I have been the new mom-to-be unsure of how to navigate our health system, afraid and unsure of my body changing, or how to allow others to touch me. I have been the client on the couch trying to dig deep despite my terrors and judgments. I am still the imperfect mom, wife, daughter, sibling, doing the work to be the best me I can be for everyone who comes into my life. I am a real human and I show up that way.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love our city. I grew up in small-town central Iowa, and from the time I was a teenager, I wanted to be in Kansas City. I cannot really tell you why but I think it has to do with the combination of “small town love” and “big city amenities” that drew me in and kept me here. We have one of the best cultures around. That said, I am a nomad at heart and if it were not for the roots I have here; I would likely be working remotely from anywhere and everywhere in our vast, amazing world.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.melindalericoslpc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melinda.lericos_wholeness/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Opal-KC-108356404836451/
• Other: www.opalkc.com

Image Credits
Image Credit to Nicole Bissey at Nicole Bissey Photography. www.nicolebisseyphotography.com