About Melinda +
Departure Menopause
If you're deep down in it with the menopause transition, I'm happy you landed here.
Let's create compassionate change with health and body image without the diets or comparison. 
Depart from the usual and uncover your motivation to change.
Navigate midlife intentionally, stay current with evidence-based research, and allow more time for what matters.
I offer neurodivergent-affirming, weight-inclusive/non-diet resources, and education alongside my health change and body image coaching.
Meet Melinda
🌮Master’s in Nutrition
🧬Certified Nutrition Specialist®
🕯️Motivational Interviewing-Trained
🔥Eating Disorder Private Practice Owner
My unique career spans decades in the food and beverage industry, with a pivot to menopause health and body image coach. While my days of slinging bottle on the Las Vegas Strip are history, hospitality remains one of the guiding values in my work.
I reached a point in food and wine when chronic illness shifted my path off the restaurant floor. Searching for answers or a diagnosis that defied an easy explanation, I sought out healing diets, supplements, and discovered The Wellness Blogosphere.
I made lifestyle changes to course-correct from the late-night eating and drinking that restaurant life demanded.
I dove deep into the interwebs, self-testing all the “healing diet” programs. I tried Whole30, keto, and AIP, hoping these plans would ease my near-constant migraine, digestive, immune, and neurological symptoms. In 2018, I entered a nutrition certification program to become a Nutrition Therapy Practitioner (NTP).
I continued the journey because I enjoyed nutrition education and saw the potential for a career change. I earned a Master’s in Nutrition and Functional Medicine, which coincided with the global pandemic.
The pandemic led many people, including me, to reevaluate their sources of information.
I started recognizing how far off my original NTP training and functional medicine teachings were when measured against evidence-based research. I sought new sources to help me unlearn and correct my course.
Fast-forward a few years. I achieved board certification as a Certified Nutrition Specialist® (CNS), which required over 1,000 hours of supervised practice.
I was fortunate to train in programs that prioritized non-diet and weight-inclusive approaches to healthcare.
This was when I started working with the eating disorder population, beginning with leading group meal support.
I’ve since developed a thriving private practice focused on outpatient-level eating disorder care. I’ve been fortunate to partner with ADHDers, autistic and AuDHDers, and other neurodivergent identities as we explore new ways of working with food, health, and body image together.
My personal experience with perimenopause has become a lot louder over the last few years. You can’t help but notice how the multi-billion dollar Wellness industry has shifted its sites toward midlife insecurity when the ads are focused on you.
I created Departure Menopause as a home for learning and un-learning during the menopause transition and a place for neurodivergent-affirming and weight-inclusive menopause care.
💜 While I’m trained in nutrition, I’m not your nutritionist. In this space, I offer education, resources, connection, and coaching. Always consult with your healthcare team before making changes to your plan
A Weight-Inclusive, Non-Diet Approach
We can implement physical health change without weight as a metric, and that consider the cost of weight stigma. This can feel tough when the menopause space seems focused on the opposite.
Shifting hormones at perimenopause, along with other steep changes in our body, brain, sleep, and stress levels can have a massive impact on our physical and emotional health and body image.
This is also when we start thinking deeply about what our health might look like for the rest of our lives.
Positive health change without dieting can take place across the span of menopausal health concerns.
Neurodivergent Menopause
Greater awareness and advocacy means more and more people in midlife are showing up with multiple experiences of neurodivergence. This includes my own late ADHD diagnosis.
This inspired me to create a special place for this group, an inclusive and neuro-affirming home for exploring food and body image at this pivotal stage.
As an early-identified gifted kid who (much) later struggled to cope when menopause symptoms hit, I needed to rebuild my strategies from the ground up.
Perimenopause and menopause are already understudied subjects.
Combine that with neurodivergent peri-/menopause. There are way more questions than answers about why this time can bring discoveries and challenges for those with differently wired brains.
If this approach excites you, I encourage you to explore the pathways to connect.
My Commitments
A Neurodivergent-Affirming & Weight-Inclusive ApproachI believe that during menopause, our health and well-being shouldn’t be judged by a number on a scale or the relentless pursuit of a specific body size or shape.
The longstanding emphasis on weight and body shape in discussions about nutrition and wellness are harmful. This excessive focus on weight often leads to disordered eating habits, dissatisfaction with our bodies, healthcare avoidance, and inadequate medical care.
Menopause care is no exception.
Instead, I advocate for an approach that embraces body diversity and celebrates the uniqueness of every body shape and size. This weight-inclusive perspective is crucial for fostering sustainable and positive lifestyle changes - a needed change in our medical and mental health systems.
This doesn’t mean avoiding discussions about weight or a blanket approach. If weight concerns come up, let's address them openly and with support. It also doesn’t mean dismissing the choices of those who may follow certain eating styles.
Anti-Oppression
If you experience menopause, you belong.I acknowledge that I benefit from multiple privileges—I’m white, cis-het, straight-sized, married, and financially secure, which can affect my understanding of others' experiences.
Because of these privileges, I may not always grasp situations immediately or get things right, but I’m committed to learning, evolving, and listening. I believe deeply in my clients' experiences regarding their bodies and lived experiences.
Menopause care can feel unwelcoming to hostile for those with any marginalized identity, and I’d like to do my part in change.
I’m dedicated to dismantling biases, unlearning harmful practices, and remaining receptive to constructive feedback.
During this transformative phase, I honor and validate your unique journey, values, and personal goals.
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The Certified Nutrition Specialist credential is awarded by the American Nutrition Association.
Earning the CNS means, at minimum, you have a Master’s degree in nutrition, 1000 hours of supervised practice experience, and have passed a rigorous board exam.
I did the majority of both my MS and post-degree supervisory work during the pandemic, with what I now understand to be untreated perimenopause and undiagnosed ADHD. This experience inspires me to advocate for earlier and more comprehensive menopause care.
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I’m a member of the Columbia River Eating Disorder Network, a non-profit group of practitioners and organizations dedicated to treating and preventing eating disorders in the Pacific Northwest.
The group provides in-person and virtual conferences and networking opportunities.
Local resources and referral partnerships within the eating disorder community are essential for the best client outcomes.
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Formerly NAMS, now The Menopause Society, “has served as the definitive resource for healthcare professionals and the public for accurate, unbiased information about menopause and healthy aging.”
While considered the most accurate and up-to-date source of general information for menopause hormone therapy guidelines, this organization is rooted in a weight-centric philosophy.
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I began my journey with the AMF by attending their Emerging Advocates Program, which teaches grassroots marketing and advocacy for migraine, a chronic neurobiological disease that I’ve lived with for most of my life.
I now mentor in that program and engage with AMF activities to promote migraine education, awareness, and funding.
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This is a virtual eating disorder network offering ongoing education, case consults, and community. As a new practitioner in the eating disorder field, I started off with EDRD Pro by joining in on their monthly case consult groups and taking the Core Skills, ED 101 course.
With eating disorders, the learning is never done, and building community is essential. Since, I’ve taken fantastic continuing education courses like Binge Eating: A Course for Dietitians.
I participate in monthly case consult groups led by experts in eating disorder-informed diabetes and binge eating disorder.
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Project Heal is a non-profit organization that connects underserved communities to eating disorder treatment. During my supervision experience while working towards my CNS, I led meal support groups through Project Heal, and I now offer a number of sliding-scale spots in my private practice with their clinician partnership, Healer’s Circle.
