Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Klein.
Hi Melissa, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hi Voyager, I’m excited to be interviewing with you again. My name is Melissa Gail Klein Rendon, I’m a licensed clinical social worker and musician based out of Austin, TX, and a proud toddler mom. I currently work at Plumeria counseling and I’m about to launch my own private practice called Sapphire Healing, focusing on trauma therapy, ecotherapy, and mindfulness. I’m originally from New York, and in my 20’s I began backpacking around the US and abroad, spending time in Hawaii, Uganda, across the West Coast, New Mexico and North Carolina, before landing in Texas in 2014, where I began my career as a singer songwriter. I met my husband Felipe at the Sahara Lounge in 2020, where I was playing flute and performing some original tunes with my friend’s Reggae band. Felipe and I have been happily married for 5 years, and we love to spend time on our farm in Colombia, rock climb, and adventure with our baby girl.
My first studio album was released in 2012 in Santa Fe under the title Glorieta. Since then, I have released 3 studio albums, gone on two full band tours throughout the southwest, done countless interviews and radio shows, and lead a wonderful band called the Morning Dew (Jon Clayton, Augie Gmitter, Ethan Schneider, and Jacqueline May). My newest EP, “Made of Earth” is full of the rawness of motherhood, and was scribbled between borrowed moments of insight and immense love. Before this recent recording, I had been feeling burned out from the music hustle. I’ve been shifting toward a more authentic and collaborative approach that is feeling more balanced and grounded. Finding time to write and perform as a full-time working mom has been challenging, but I’ve stuck with it, and I’m excited about the vibes and sounds coming through on this new record. I feel blessed to have such amazing collaborators, my longtime friends Jacqueline May (Arco Rei), Erin Thelen (piano and vocals), and Jason Richards, who produced the album.
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?
Living in Austin, we’re surrounded by so many incredibly talented and creative musicians. In my earlier years, putting myself out there as a singer-songwriter and bandleader, I struggled with competitiveness, imposter syndrome, vulnerability hangovers, and insecurity. I longed to be accepted by certain venues, radio stations, and artists I admired. When I was, I was elated, and when I wasn’t, I was disheartened. I realized along the way, that the more emphasis I put on my image and how I’m perceived, the more insecure I felt. I come from a gymnastics background, where I was literally judged for a score from the time I was a little girl, until I graduated from Penn State as a full scholarship Division 1 athlete. I’ve had to work hard to divorce myself from the feeling of being judged, or desiring to be perceived as successful, especially by my parents and people close to me. I’ve also had to learn how to be really gentle and patient with myself, as it’s an ongoing, living process. No matter if I’m accepted and praised by the masses, or if I’m rejected and never really “make it,” I’m always going to be a creative person. I’m a writer, a flautist, a poet, a painter; I like to dance, and recently, I’m learning how to weave baskets. Being a mom, I’m constantly in silly mode, making up games and stories to entertain my daughter and her friends. This endless well of creativity comes from that childlike state of flow, feeling free from the judgement of others. Staying in that inner space when you’re in front of an audience is difficult, and impossible if you’re trying to impress somebody. Failure and rejection are just part of the deal if you’re a creative person; if you only feel valuable and worthy when you’re being admired or validated, it’s going to be a rocky sea. It also puts a lot of pressure on people around you if you pin your opinion of yourself on others. I have had to dive deep over the years to establish my sense of self far down within the untouchable reaches of my heart, where the music really comes from (check out my song “Worth”).
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
It was hard for me to pick if I should talk about my music, or about my Therapy Practice, so I’ll share a little about both. My new EP Made of Earth has soothing, soulful vocals, and speaks to themes of war, love, and transformation through darkness. The songs are life rafts, and provide a sense of hope through the times we’re living in. I believe they’re each unique gems that come through me to touch people’s hearts and inspire others to sing, to release, and to find their own voice and power. I also play the banjo and flute, and I love to jam out and play intuitively, which makes for some interesting flavors and an eventful live performance.
Sapphire Healing is my new therapy practice that I’ll be launching in 2027. My practice is unique because I incorporate music, art, somatic experiencing, and ecotherapy. I enjoy taking people into nature for earth-based rituals, which center around themes of grief, transformation, or clarification of life purpose. I am also training in a therapy technique called the Comprehensive Resource Model (CRM) created by Lisa Schwarz, which uses visualization, deep breathing, and parts work. It truly liberates people from all kinds of longstanding symptoms and unhealthy behavioral patterns, it’s quite miraculous. As a therapist, I’m deeply empathic, I have a gentle presence, and I love learning people’s world’s and helping them find their way through their issues. Having a clinical social worker as a therapist is a boon, because we have a person-in-environment approach, and look at the systems and culture surrounding the person, not just what’s in between their ears. If folks would like to work with me, I have a psychology today profile and email which you can find below.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I would love to share my music with you! Made of Earth, my new project and EP are available on all listening platforms. You can also tune into my former musical offerings under Melissa Gail Klein on Spotify and beyond. Www.SapphireTherapyHealing.Com will be available in the coming months, and in the mean time you can email me at Melissa.socialworkATX@gmail.com or search Melissa Klein on Psychology Today.
Pricing:
- $135/ 50 minute individual therapy session
- $100/hr vocal and perfomance coaching
- Music streaming is free
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/melissa-klein-austin-tx/860343?msockid=389f7a91bf846dc90d786c10bed36cae
- Instagram: Made.of.earth.music
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melissa.g.klein
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@melissagailklein9609
Image Credits
Cabe Lindsay of Arise Video Studio
