Samantha Meadows
Samantha Meadows
(she/her)
Hello! I began my social work journey in 2006 and have been working in the mental health field since I obtained my MSW in 2008. As a clinical social worker I have thoroughly enjoyed the privilege of helping individuals identify and address many mental health concerns and move towards the life they most desire. I am passionate about addressing the stigma around addictions and serious mental illness and I believe the best way to begin any mental health journey of recovery is with compassion and understanding. I work from a cognitive-behavioral perspective and I use a strengths-based orientation of empowerment to work with adults and couples. I feel that we are already our best selves-we just need some help letting go of the survival skills we've taken on to get through the toughest times in our lives. I have spent several years working exclusively with homeless veterans and individuals struggling with addiction, and this has given me additional perspective and insight into the needs of some of our most vulnerable populations. I am an advocate, an accountability partner, an empath and your greatest cheerleader. I'm excited to help you rediscover your best self and to claim the life you deserve.
Get to know me
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
Starting a new therapeutic relationship can be scary and intimidating, whether you've had previous experience or this is your first time. I have always felt deeply honored and privileged to be a part of serving individuals during some of the hardest and most overwhelming seasons of their lives. I never take for granted the vulnerability and courage it requires to ask for help and I see my role as a collaborator on your agenda. It's important to me that you always feel safe to be vulnerable and authentic, and that you never feel judged, criticized or compromised in any way. In our first session we will spend some time getting to know one another, reviewing expectations, outlining your goals and starting to develop a plan around how we'll get to where you want to be.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
I truly love all of the clients I work with. I'm always excited and amazed at the ways each of us brings our uniqueness and diversity to our life experiences. Everyone has special gifts as well as individual ways in which we may need guidance navigating the challenges of our lives. I think that my empathy, my ability to read between the lines, my intuition and the joy I have for this work are my greatest strengths. I also enjoy a good laugh and think it's a very valuable part of therapy when appropriate!
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
I love working with adults who are struggling with anxiety, anger, and trauma. I love clients who have some basic self-awareness but feel stuck in their need for control. They have a desire and willingness to change, and they understand that emotional growth may take the same effort, intention and consistency as any other new skill or habit. They have a basic understanding of the therapeutic alliance and the give and take that is required to make therapy effective and productive.
About Samantha Meadows
I identify as
Specialties
Serves ages
Accepts
Appointments
VirtualMy treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is an evidenced-based treatment modality with proven efficacy for treating anxiety, depression, OCD, and a variety of other thought and mood disorders. I have personally found CBT to be extremely helpful in reframing my thinking and managing expectations for myself and others. In my practice we will utilize CBT to develop an understanding of how our upbringing shapes our core beliefs, and how those beliefs impact our thoughts, feelings, behaviors and life experiences.
Strength-Based
With a strength-based therapeutic approach we will explore your past and present to highlight the ways in which you have survived and adapted to life experiences by utilizing your internal capacity, resourcefulness and resiliency. Strength-based therapy uses a positively-oriented perspective to problem-solve using your intrinsic capabilities and learned skillset. I firmly believe that we have and have always had the ability to be our best selves, and strength-based therapy allows us to access those abilities by reframing and reflecting on our lives via a lens of empowerment.
Somatic
Somatic therapy focuses on the mind-body connection and looks into your physical self as a pathway to addressing past and current psychological barriers. Whether we are addressing grief, trauma, anxiety, chronic pain, depression or something else, there is a wealth of information to be discovered by looking within one's body. I have found somatic tracking exercises to be an integral part of confronting past trauma, to healing chronic pain, and fostering emotional release and acceptance.
Couples Counseling
The members of any committed relationship will inevitably experience a range of challenges, and couples counseling can be a supportive and effective way to navigate those challenges. Use of reflective listening, problem-solving skills and conflict resolution techniques can be an integral part of utilizing conjoint sessions to work through trauma, infidelity, trust issues, communication concerns and a wide range of other difficulties that are common to relationships. Having a mediated, safe, neutral space can make a huge difference in resolving conflict and learning new skills that will help you grow and thrive as a unit.
Exposure Response Prevention (ERP)
Exposure Response Prevention can be an extremely effective tool in helping individuals with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and other anxiety disorders build distress tolerance and learn to face their greatest fears and phobias. While challenging at times, it is a proven treatment method to address fears head on, tolerate discomfort and build new coping skills to break out of the cycles many of us struggling with anxiety disorders feel trapped within.