An accomplished actress and psychologist, Dr. Meleeka Clary has excelled as a clinical psychologist with HMWP Psychology Counseling, LLC since 2020. She previously served as a counselor for a variety of organizations, including two homeless shelters. Drawn to a career in psychology after dealing with some personal struggles that lead her to seek mental health care for herself, she now specializes in working with developmentally disabled individuals and teaching communication skills. Her ultimate goal is to help these individuals feel more comfortable expressing themselves. When she isn’t working directly with patients, Dr. Clary often collaborates with her fellow professionals about the mental health needs of practitioners in the field and serves as a volunteer advocate for the Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller Mental Health Center.
Dr. Clary has also spent time as an educator, teaching at such institutions as Ivy Tech Community College and the Lincoln Technical Institute, and as a paralegal for the William & Rangulong Law Office. First studying criminal justice at Newbury College, she later achieved both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in criminal justice from Curry College, which were followed by a paralegal certificate from Northeastern University in 2005 and an Executive Doctor of Jurisprudence from Concord Law School at Purdue University in 2008. Dr. Clary completed her Doctor of Philosophy in clinical psychology at Walden University in 2021.
Prior to her work in legal services, education and psychology, Dr. Clary got her start as an actress and model. She began taking tap, ballet and jazz classes at Vicki’s School of Dancing and Acting at the age of 8 and was acting and modeling by the time she was 13. Continuing to be active as an actress and director alongside her other professional endeavors, she has appeared in a variety of commercials and TV shows, including “Greenleaf,” “Nashville,” “The Resident,” “Willpower” and “Genius.” She also wrote, directed and acted in the 2021 film, “Three Corners of Deception,” about a college law professor who falls in love with an attorney.
For her excellence in the entertainment industry, Dr. Clary has received countless awards and nominations for her films. In 2021, she was a semi-finalist and finalist at several national and international film festivals and received awards from the Toronto International Women Film Festival, the Dreamz Catcher International Film Festival and the Royal Wolf Film Awards. She has also received a Best Actress Award and a Best Director Award. Dr. Clary’s work in legal services and counseling has been recognized as well, and she received a certificate of recognition for working with teenagers in 1992, having served as a mentor for Wipeout Drug Abuse for Teens.