Gregorio Meléndez - A short introduction

I have taken a fairly winding route to where I am now, both personally and professionally. What follows is less a formal biography than a short reflection on the places, relationships and experiences that have shaped how I understand myself, how I connect with others, and how I approach the work I do.

Movement has shaped my life from the very beginning. My American parents were living in Germany when I was born, then returned to the US shortly after. My father had made his own major move years earlier, immigrating to the USA from Mexico with his mother when he was 12. I spent most of my childhood in California, then moved to Ohio for graduate school, Chicago for my pre- and post-doctoral studies, and Charleston, South Carolina, to work for MST (Multisystemic Therapy).

Charleston became my final stop in the USA. 

A few years later, my wife, our two children and I moved to Finland, the country where my wife was born, and we stayed there for more than ten years. In 2017, I moved to the UK to work for Westminster City Counsil, supporting the creation of a new service for families at high risk of disruption.

I have been here ever since. Altough I have said before that I was finished with international moves, recently becoming a British citizen has made this chapter feel more settled: for now, and perhaps for good, the UK is home.

Movement has taught me many things about myself and the world around me. I have learned that I genuinely enjoy encountering different places, different people and different ways of living. I have also learned to notice what is familiar across the differences: the need for connection, belonging, humour, safety and hope. Over time, I have made deep connections with places and people, and I have carried those connections with me even when life has taken me somewhere else. Movement has taught me about letting go, trusting myself, and trusting others when inevitable challenges come along. It has also helped me understand what I have missed by choosing movement over continuity. There have been moments, especially when life has been difficult, when I have missed the comfort that family and deep roots might have provided. It has been a life full of lessons, and I hope I have learned many of them well.

One of the most meaningful lessons I have learned is the idea of the dialetic: 

the possibility that a fuller truth can emerge when we allow two different truths to sit alongside each other. I come across this often in psychology, but I also find it helpful in making sense of my own life. For example, I enjoy and appreciate my life in the UK, and I still miss what I left behind in Finland. One feeling does not cancel out the other. Together, they remind me that I am who I am because of the time, relationships and experiences I have had in both places. I see this in my professional life too. I can accept who I am now as a psychologist, including my strengths and weaknesses, while still holding a genuine desire and commitment to keep learning, developing and getting better at the work.

I have a lot of professional training and experience that guides the work I do with people who come to me for help.

Yet the more I reflect on my own journey, the more I recognise how deeply my personal experiences and values shape the way I practise. The education and professional training are the main ingredients, but the life I have lived, the places I have called home, and the values I have tried to carry with me are the sauce and seasoning. They give the work its flavour. They remind me to stay curious, compassionate and open to complexity. And, perhpas most importantly, they help me meet people not only as a professional, but as a fellow human being still learning from the movement, relationships and lessons of life.