At Gifted Path, we believe in the transformative power of hypnotherapy. Our journey began with a passion for helping others overcome their obstacles and reach their full potential. With a wide range of tools and techniques at our disposal, we identify the root causes of your issues and guide you toward lasting change. Our Anxiety Relief, Weight Management, and Confidence Building Hypnotherapy services are designed to help you thrive in all areas of your life. Let us be your partner on this transformative journey.

Gifted Path’s founder, Melissa, has led a colorful life, built several businesses, and embarked on experiences that have shaped her into the qualified guide she is today.

Raised by her father, Melissa recalls the persistent feeling of "something missing" and a sense of not truly belonging. Rebellion and resistance were deeply rooted in her, fueling her search for a place in the vast, hectic world.

At 18, she set out to find her mother—a decision that cost her nearly a decade but provided invaluable insights into key issues many young people face today, including mental health challenges, trauma, recidivism, sexual abuse, domestic violence, addiction, and recovery. During the first 10 years of her adult life, Melissa was in and out of the California prison system. It wasn’t until she realized she had something to live for that she began to make the changes necessary to claim her place in society.

In 2008, Melissa completed her final prison term. Upon her release, she enrolled in a local trade school for legal studies. Melissa, worn down by years of trauma, addiction, and institutionalization, was initially unaware of her own marketable skills. However, as she applied herself in her classes and earned high scores on assignments, her confidence blossomed. She finally understood that she had something valuable to contribute—a reason to integrate into society. Although she continued to struggle with addiction for a few more years, she soon discovered that she could help others by showing them that there is a way out of the pain and suppression associated with a criminal lifestyle.

Upon completing her legal studies, she began working for a criminal defense attorney in Orange County, California. Here, she established her role by creating alternative sentencing plans for clients facing criminal charges. She mentored women with similar struggles and found joy in supporting them on their journeys.

In 2017, Melissa’s life took another turn. The number of funerals she attended began to increase, coming one after another. Michael, the father of her only child, passed away just three weeks before their child’s fifth birthday. This profound loss was a catalyst that pushed Melissa to make a life-altering decision: she left Corporate America and the career she had invested a decade in to focus on what truly mattered—living life fully and giving her daughter everything she needed to grow into a better human being than her parents. Melissa moved with her daughter to a small, rural mountain community in Idyllwild, California. During this time, Melissa also cared for her father and grandmother. Over the next three years, she and her daughter experienced the loss of several more loved ones, including her mother-in-law, father, and grandmother. The depth of her depression left her barely hanging on, capable only of meeting the bare minimum for herself and her child. Struggling with her mental health and her daughter’s health concerns, Melissa eventually returned to city life.

Her remaining family consisted of her mother and half-sister, and she once again reunited with her mother. However, this period was marked by poor decisions and significant consequences. Melissa found her relationship with her 15-years-younger half-sister strained and felt disconnected from both her sister and mother. She endured unhealthy relationships, took unnecessary risks, and struggled to be the mother she aspired to be. The cycle of domestic violence, homelessness, and another battle with addiction followed, though she expressed little regret, believing in the lessons learned.

Melissa’s journey today is one she considers a gift—one she wishes to share with others in hopes of inspiring them and guiding them to find their own path to solutions and answers.

Through the support of loving friends, the universal protections she believes watch over her and her child, and her unyielding determination, Melissa managed to rebuild her life once more. Today, she is proud to have found a new way to positively impact others through hypnotherapy. Her goal is to help people overcome personal struggles and navigate the difficulties of losing loved ones through bereavement counseling.

This journey represents an evolution for Melissa, her daughter, and everyone she reaches. Life ebbs and flows, and when one believes in the goodness of life, lives with intention, and refrains from expecting others to change, one flows too. Resisting the current only leads to being pulled under until we learn to move with the flow.