Mel Abbott

Mel Abbott is a chronic illness recovery specialist who has helped thousands worldwide overcome conditions such as ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, CRPS, long COVID, anxiety, autoimmune conditions, and more. Around 75% of her clients were told they were “incurable,” yet around 80% who complete her programs report lasting recovery.

Her work is changing lives and transforming how health professionals understand illness. Twice voted Best Speaker at National GP Conferences and a contributor to the Otago Medical School programme, Mel was also a finalist in the New Zealand Inspirational Woman of the Year Awards (2024). She has been interviewed on TV and radio many times and was headhunted by Brainz Magazine as a global expert contributor on mind-body medicine.

Mel’s journey began with her own 11 years of chronic fatigue syndrome and concussion, during which doctors told her there was no cure. Refusing to accept this, she discovered the power of neuroplasticity and nervous system retraining. By calming her stress response, she made a full recovery and went on to design The Switch Program — a step-by-step chronic illness recovery programme combining psychology, NLP, emotional processing, and the latest neuroscience.

Her courses begin with a free 40-minute webinar and are available either live over four days or in small pre-recorded steps for those who are housebound or bedbound.

Dramatic client recoveries include: a 15-year-old with fibromyalgia, wheelchair-bound for five years, who was walking and rock climbing within 10 days; a man with 55 years of migraines who has never had another; and a young woman scheduled for lung surgery who recovered so well her operation was cancelled. One orthopaedic surgeon, after seeing his patients heal from CRPS, called Mel “the rock star of mind-body medicine” and said she had revealed “the missing link medicine has overlooked.”

Her philosophy is clear: the body knows how to heal. Once the nervous system is brought back into balance, the body’s natural repair mechanisms switch back on and physical healing can occur.

Because her approach is mind-body based, some people worry it implies that their illness is “all in the mind.” Mel reassures them that this is not the case. These conditions are very real, physical illnesses — but neuroscience now shows how mind and body constantly interact, and how changes in the brain can produce profound changes in the physical body.