Today we’d like to introduce you to Eva Benmeleh
Hi Eva, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My curiosity about how we navigate relationships—combined with my lightheartedness, authenticity, and willingness to question (and sometimes challenge) the status quo—has shaped my work. Through my private practice, authorship, interviews, workshops, and trainings, I specialize in perfectionism, maternal mental health, and emotional resilience, guiding individuals to release the weight of self-doubt and embrace their true selves.
My approach is deeply holistic, blending evidence-based psychology with ancient spiritual and energetic practices to support healing on multiple levels—mind, body, and soul.
Healing isn’t about fixing what’s broken, because nothing is broken. It’s about learning to trust yourself, stop chasing impossible standards, and actually enjoy being you.
I don’t just talk about this work—I live it. My story isn’t unique or extraordinary, but it has given me something priceless: the freedom to be myself. All of those fears about being too much of this, not enough of that, have faded, for the most part. I’m a perpetual student, and life’s biggest lessons become clear when I open my heart and drop self-righteousness and impatience. By allowing life to unfold instead of forcing it into what I (or anyone else) think it should be, I live with more grace, optimism, discernment, and gratitude than ever before. That’s what I want for my clients too—to realize that all the bells and whistles, the constant striving, the need to prove yourself? It’s extra. You don’t need it to be whole.
I was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, and moved to Miami in the first grade. At the time, I barely spoke English and didn’t quite fit in as I was the only Venezuelan in my grade (believe it or not) in 1989 in North Miami Beach. Private school is an interesting territory, where social currency gets you far, but the brand of your sneakers gets you farther. The materialism mixed with religiosity was ironic and discordant with the spiritual ideals we learned in school. I became the super nerd in school, with exceedingly high expectations of myself just to feel good enough.
I earned my undergraduate degree from the University of Florida and earned my doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology from Nova Southeastern University. During my internship and postdoc at the Institute for Child and Family Health, I realized just how important the mother-child relationship is as the end-all foundation of all emotional well-being and self-regulation. That insight sparked my passion for attachment theory, leading me to examine my own patterns and ultimately reshape my entire approach to therapy.
Like many high-achievers, I checked all the boxes—Ph.D., marriage, two kids by 30. And yet, something was missing. I was determined to be the perfect everything, meticulously checking off to-do lists, overgiving, over-functioning, complaining, overeating, and collapsing—just to start all over again. I was caught in a cycle that was destroying my health, relationships, and career. It’s not surprising now when I look back, I was so miserable, I just didn’t believe I deserved a happy in-love-with- life story. I thought life was supposed to be hard, boring, and full of challenges and disappointments. Anxiety riddled my every move. Perfectionism wasn’t helping me—it was keeping me disconnected, rigid, and exhausted. It wasn’t until I let go of control that I truly became acquainted with myself.
When my marriage ended in 2018, I had to face some hard truths. I spiraled into a rabbit hole of ‘whys’ and ‘hows,’ desperate to understand what went wrong—and, more importantly, how I could make sure I never repeated the same mistakes. Divorce forced me out of my comfort zone and into uncertainty. I had two choices: drown in shame or swim with optimism. I chose to swim.
At first, it was overwhelming. There were things my ex-husband had always handled that I suddenly had to figure out. I was now the sole provider, the emotional anchor for my two young children, and a woman rebuilding her life from the ground up. I poured my energy into growing my private practice while navigating heartbreak, divorced motherhood, and an entirely new sense of self. I knew what was at stake if I didn’t figure it out – my responsibility to figure it out could cost my children’s future and I wasn’t going to play with that. My psychologist at the time encouraged me to release judgment and shift out of ingratitude, suggesting I try meditation, Reiki, and sound baths. I was skeptical—completely closed off to what I saw as woo-woo nonsense. But I trusted her, so I went with it.
I dove deep into the world of energetics, higher consciousness, universal laws,meditation, yoga, breathwork, sound baths, plant medicine, and holistic healing. I also committed to a disciplined exercise routine and explored various therapy modalities—learning and living them. It was the missing piece in everything I had studied. Psychology gives us the framework to understand the mind, while spirituality provides the experience of transformation. Together, they don’t just help us cope—they help us live fully, authentically, and with purpose.
Perfectionism is a spiritual bypass—a way we avoid discomfort by fooling ourselves into believing we can control everything. Integrating psychology and spirituality has taken healing to a deeper, faster, and more expansive level—for myself and the clients I serve. Today, I hold the same faith in my own life that I instill in my clients.
I’ve built a life I enjoy—with two incredible children who adore me back (!!), a career I can’t get enough of, and a healthy lifestyle that allows me the freedom to explore, learn, integrate, and live with more love and faith and fewer fears.
I couldn’t have gotten this far without the support of my family, the dear friends at every juncture, professionals who teach, guide, and hold me as I unpack,release, and integrate heavy and toxic traits, and the random people I meet along the way who teach me more than a best-selling book can. Last but not least, my clients—their courage, vulnerability, and tenacity to say, “I have had enough of this BS, and I want, deserve, a lovely life” fill my heart with gratitude, awe, and humility that they chose me to be their witness and guide.
Today, my work includes 1:1 sessions and group work specializing in perfectionism and maternal mental health; workshops on emotional resilience, self-trust, and navigating life transitions; custom trainings for organizations, educators, and mental health professionals; speaking engagements on self-realization, leadership, and holistic well-being; and spiritual integration support—helping individuals ground new insights into everyday life after deep mindset shifts.
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?
It has definitely not been smooth, but each stumbling block or uphill challenge has been more rewarding than the experience itself. It’s interesting because experiences are what shape you but you also have to decide – how many experiences and what type – do you actually need to learn to value your worth and cultivate self – love? We can either learn through tough love or with compassionate love. And, life has a funny way of repeating the same tests/experiences until we learn the lesson that we are creators of our reality and the choice is ultimately ours. The biggest challenge has been navigating that balance between control and faith, hardwork and flow.
One of the biggest challenges was learning how to run a business while being a psychologist—something grad school never prepared me for. I was lucky to have friends and colleagues who mentored me early on, but I also had to immerse myself in business knowledge.
Another major turning point was the end of my marriage. Divorce forces you to rebuild, redefine, and rise up—and that’s exactly what I did. Being divorced without additional help adds another layer of complexity. Balancing work, parenting, and life requires a whole new level of creativity and adaptability. There’s no built-in backup plan, no default partner to pick up the slack, so I had to become really intentional about structuring my life in a way that actually works for my kids and me. As a psychologist, my work/life balance is intermixed where what I believe and know is immersed in all of my relationships. At some point, I stopped looking at myself in this role or that – I just am.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I work as a clinical psychologist specializing in perfectionism, maternal mental health, and emotional resilience. I help high-achievers break free from self-doubt, anxiety, and the relentless pressure to always do more so they can live with more ease, self-trust, and fulfillment.
What sets me apart is my integrative approach— I see past the duality of a situation and quickly pick up on the bigger picture. While everything is pointing in one direction, I look the other way to spot the origin of the true issue. I can only do this due to my deep understanding of psychology as a structure and spirituality as the depth and alignment – helping people move beyond coping into authentic self-expression.
My sessions are guided by intuition, self-awareness, humor, tenacity, and precision. Clients know that when we sit together, we’re here to do real work—unpacking deep, unresolved patterns that stand between them and true happiness. Our work is collaborative, built on trust, honesty, and the shared goal of healing, it makes it that much easier when you feel guided and supported by someone who isn’t perfect and has been through the trenches, come out the other side and wants to see you get there too.
Beyond my private practice, I lead workshops, trainings, and group programs to help individuals and organizations understand perfectionism’s impact on mental health and emotional resilience. I also collaborate with healers in breathwork, sound therapy, acupuncture, and somatic healing to create transformative experiences beyond traditional talk therapy.
At the end of the day, my mission is simple: help people see the perfection in it all and start living.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.drevabenmeleh.com
- Instagram: dr.evabenmeleh
- Facebook: dr. eva benmeleh therapy
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eva-benmeleh-132465a/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dr.EvaBenmeleh
Image Credits
Andrea Blakesberg and Alicia
