Are you seeking a safe space to explore your mental health and build resilience as a parent?
It's an honour to have you here,
Hi, I’m Melissa Mendoza, Founder of The Shift and a Certified Mental Health & Wellbeing Practitioner. I’m passionate about supporting women from diverse backgrounds as they navigate the mental and emotional challenges of growing their families.
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My mission is to empower women with practical tools to nurture their emotional, physical, and mental health. I blend 14 years of yoga practice with my lived experience of mental ill-health, offering a trauma-informed approach that prioritizes safety, self-agency, and holistic wellbeing.
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My own journey includes struggling with IVF, experiencing birth trauma, and living through severe post-partum depression and anxiety. These experiences, along with my story of migration, led me to explore holistic practices that resonated with me helping me recover and maintain my mental health.
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Through The Shift, I provide mental health support, educational programs, and mind-body-spirit self-care practices—offering a compassionate, evidence-based approach to help women thrive.
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Learn about my lived experience and advocacy work:
​• The Age: Melissa fell through the gaps for post-natal anxiety help. A simple change is fixing that
​• PANDA: Melissa's story: Difficult emotions through an IVF journey
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"If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together"
- Lilla Watson
Our Services
Family Wellbeing
Self-care Programs
Our self-care programs offer thoughtfully curated in-person and live online sessions to nurture the emotional wellbeing of women growing their families. From conception through to the early years of parenting (up to 4 years), we believe self-care is a vital skill for maintaining mental wellness.
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Our three unique programs are designed to empower women with practical tools helping them build resilience, navigate the challenges of motherhood, and prioritize their mental health.
Workforce Wellbeing
Corporate Services
Our corporate services bring Lived Experience expertise to support organizations in creating mentally healthy workplaces. Through a co-creation approach, we collaborate closely with companies to implement policy changes that prevent burnout, address employee's mental health needs, and embed trauma-informed practices.
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By fostering a supportive environment, we help workplaces enhance psychological safety, promote employee wellbeing, and boost productivity.​
Peer Support Services
Private Practice
Our Lived Experience Services offers private, compassionate support for women recovering from depression and anxiety during the perinatal stage—whether pre- or post-partum.
Grounded in trauma-informed practices and guided by genuine lived experience, our sessions provide a safe and nurturing space to explore mental health recovery holistically. Together, we’ll discover practices that resonate with you and connect you with relevant services tailored to your unique journey and personal goals.
