I became a social worker in 2002. It wasn't what I set out to do when I started college, but it was always what I was meant to do. I've always loved helping people and animals, and I was the one family, friends, and coworkers came to whenever they needed to find a resource.
The trouble was, help was never as easy to find as it should be. I got by on rolodexes, business cards, scribbled lists, shared spreadsheets nobody kept up, and my own memory, plus directories that only helped if what you needed happened to be listed, and even then, their filters were too blunt to refine the way I actually needed. None of them let me filter by the things that actually matter. Too often the right resource took months to track down, or I never found it at all. There had to be a better way.
That search took every form. As a social worker I matched people to therapists by location, insurance, ages served, language, and approach, and hunted down the hard ones: a neurologist who specialized in adolescent concussions, a medication-conservative psychiatrist, a hospice with a respite unit, psychological testing. As a mom I searched for pediatric help with GERD, sensory processing disorder, ADHD, an autoimmune condition, convergence insufficiency, once even a specially trained anesthesiologist. And as a hospital case manager doing discharge planning, I lined up outpatient PT and OT trained in specific modalities, inpatient facilities chosen by their on-site equipment, non-emergent medical transport, and durable medical equipment matched to a patient's insurance and service area. Every single time, I wished for one place that could filter by all of it.
I dreamed of Wellyoh long before it had a name, I wanted something better for the better part of twenty years, waiting for someone else to build it. Eventually I thought: why keep waiting, when I could just build it myself?
Then a few parts of my life collided. I've always been the one who takes in animals when they're hurt or homeless, more of them over the years than I could count, and when it wasn't animals, it was people. I have four amazing children, and we knew we were at our limit for what we could afford, even with all the love and energy for more. My husband said we were done having children. But I'd long wanted to help older teens and young adults too, because they count as children too, so I joked, “What if I could pay for it? Would you still say no?” He didn't say no. I don't think he expected me to find a way. But where there's a will, there's a way.
My heart is with those who have no permanent family, no safe place to land, no safe adults to look up to, nowhere to go for the holidays, no place to call home. And with animals, struggling families, seniors, veterans, and so many others.
The name. I kept coming back to one word: wellness. The person I try to be is someone who helps, and then empowers others to help themselves. “Well Your Own Health” said exactly that. Take Well and the first letters of Your Own Health, and you get Wellyoh.
Empowering both sides. Wellyoh is built so a searcher can find the provider who truly fits them, and so providers can be found for the niche they actually serve, reach best-match clients, and strengthen their own referral network. Everyone who uses Wellyoh helps it grow.
Why it costs a little. I never wanted to ask anyone for donations. Instead, a low subscription, enough to keep the resource running, with room to let Wellyoh fund the causes closest to my heart: helping young adults and older teens who have no safe place to call home, and more. It's a way for something good to grow, to both sustain itself and give back at the same time.
About putting my name on it. Honestly, I never wanted my name attached to any of this, I'm not looking for credit or recognition. But at event after event, people told me: add your name, your credentials, let people know who you are. So, reluctantly, I have, because if it helps Wellyoh help more people, then where there's a will, there's a way.
I'm so glad you found Wellyoh. If it helps you, I hope you'll share this little powerhouse of a resource, the more it grows, the more good it can do.
Melissa Shaw, LCSW‑BACS, Founder of Wellyoh
Use it, join it, share it, every person who comes aboard helps the whole community grow.
Combine any filters, insurance, language, specialty, what you're going through, and narrow to the providers who fit you.
Medical, mental health, holistic, fitness, classes, community resources, care for every part of life, in one place.
Free for people searching, affordable for providers, and we never redirect you to a competitor.
The information helps you decide for yourself who to reach out to, your health, your choice.
One of the largest whole-person health & wellness directories in the United States.
health & wellness providers
U.S. states + Washington, D.C.
therapists & counselors
cities with local pages
provider types & specialties
public continuing-education courses
Wellyoh uses high-contrast, WCAG AA‑readable text and never relies on color alone, so it’s easy to read and navigate for people with low vision and color blindness.
™