| Melissa Thornton is a
woman who loves adventure and is passionate about nature---human and other.
She is drawn to meet challenges and grow from them. She can help you to
seek out your challenges and transform them into opportunities; then make
those opportunities into life adventures!
Some of her personal goals
accomplished:
(a more colorful, tongue-in-cheek resume!)
- Won every spelling bee throughout grammar school
- Wrote Arbor Day 5th grade class play, 1962
- Won "Miss Congeniality", New Jersey Junior Miss Pageant,
1970
- BA, Mt Holyoke College, 1974
- Designed Train and Became First Woman Security
Officer, American Freedom Train, 1974-75
- Broke records selling $1MM dollars life insurance in 5 months,1977
- Built 3-story chimney, with her own hands,1978
- MBA, Amos Tuck, Dartmouth, 1980
- Marketing, Richardson-Vicks, 1980-84
- Completed 125 mile bike race, Mexicali-Rosarita-Ensanada, Mexico,
1981
- Scuba Diving Certificate, 1982
- Market Research, Burke Mktg Int'l, 1984-5
- Private Pilot's License, 1986
- Apprentice General Contractor, 4 new house & 4
renovations,1985-1987
- MS, Marriage and Family Therapy, U. Bridgeport, 1990
- Clinician, Hamden Mental Health Service, 1988-1992
- Created Private Practice, Marriage & Family Therapy,Coaching and
Corporate Consulting,1990 on
- School Counselor, Greens Farms Academy, 1992-2001
- Advanced Scuba Diving Certificate, 1994
- Certificate Course, Family & Divorce Mediation, 1995
- Member, Board of Directors, CAMFT, 1989-2000
- President, CAMFT, 1998-99
- Designed and Created CAMFT Website, 1998 (http://welcome.to/camft)
- Biked around Ireland, 1999
- Hiked one of the Rockies' 14,000 foot peaks, 2000
- Member, Board of Directors, CCDM, 2001-02
- Learned to Kayak--whitewater and sea kayak, 2002
- Designed and Created Personal Website, 2002
- Paddled her kayak the entire length of the 'flatwater' of the Housatonic River, from the Long Island Sound to the New Milford whitewater, 2003-2004
- Researched Botanical and Landscape Design and added four gardens to her home property, 2004
- President, ICF-CT Chapter, 2002 to the present
Some adventure anecdotes:
In 1974, Melissa was one of five people hired to put together the
American Freedom Train, a steam locomotive-driven train which carried
American memorabilia around the country throughout the Bicentennial. After
persuading museum directors throughout the country to loan their precious
items to the train, she was the first woman security officer to travel
with the Freedom Train around the country.
In 1978, she bought her first house in New Hampshire, to live in while
attending Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, Dartmouth College,
Hanover, New Hampshire. Being on a tight, student's budget, she ran out of
money for oil her first year. SO, she sent to the government for pamphlets
about building a chimney; built a 3 story chimney that summer; then hired
the Dartmouth Woodsman's Crew to split her enough wood for the next
winter!!
In 1980,during an introduction to Marketing at Richardson-Vick's,
Melissa realized that marketing involved a lot of sitting and began
bicycling 20+ miles 4 days per week. When she was sent to California for
sales training, Melissa dedicated herself to enhancing her physical
fitness and joined a local gym. There she met some other bicyclists and
began training for the big Rosarita-Mexicali (50 mountainous miles)
and Rosarita-Ensanada (125 rolling miles) bike races in Mexico. She
finished them both the first try! Scuba diving and flying small planes
were the next two steps that kept her challenged and focused on adventure.
She entered two new realms of the natural environment. The moment the
instructor stepped out of the plane that first time, and Melissa took off
solo, a feeling of mastery enveloped her that has never since been quite
matched. In 1985, Melissa's cherished mother died, early in life.
The loss set off an early mid-life 'crisis' of soul-searching, during
which Melissa participated in transformational, self-exploratory courses
such as the Landmark 'Forum', 'Advanced Course', 'Six-Day' and seminars,
Sterling Institute's 'Women, Sex and Power', Johnson O'Connor's battery of
aptitude testing and others. As a result, she left the corporate
environment to 'do something more meaningful', the first of which was to
become an apprentice general contractor and build beautiful houses for
people. This was a step in the right direction, and lasted two years,
during the soul-searching process. But the true outcome of the search
was realized when Melissa went back to school for psychology, at the
University of Bridgeport, and graduated with a degree in Marriage and
Family Therapy, with background courses in clinical psychology. And the
rest, as they say, is history and is documented throughout this
website. Working with her clients, in both therapy and coaching,
is the most meaningful and fulfilling thing Melissa has done in
life. Every day, addressing every client's goals, is a challenge
and an adventure.
Other challenges arise--there are Rocky Mountains to
climb and rivers and oceans to explore by kayak--and these physical
challenges are a wonderful balance to the daily mental challenges. Several
conferences per year keep her fresh and up-to-date with coaching and
psychotherapy theories and techniques. Wouldn't you like to work with
someone who meets challenges head-on and will
help you do the same?
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If NOW IS THE TIME, call Melissa at 203-331-7242 or email
at boldcolorlife@gmail.com
for a complimentary coaching/evaluation session.
Coaching,
by telephone, from anywhere in the world!
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