Licensed to practice in Washington and accepts 9 insurances. Specializes in ADHD, Autism, Trauma and PTSD and 10 more.
(she/her)
New to Grow
Hello, my name is Megan, and I am a licensed mental health counselor in the state of WA who has been practicing for 10 years in the PNW. I specialize working with neurodivergent (ADHD/ ASD) individuals and their families, trauma survivors and those who struggle with depression/ self worth and anxieties. I want to commend you for having the courage and willingness to embark on this therapeutic journey to improve your well-being because taking the first step can feel uncomfortable and filled with uncertainty. I believe building a trusting therapeutic relationship is the foundation to be able to heal, develop healthy skills and have agency over your life. I aim to cultivate a safe, collaborative, and empowering space which allows you, the client, to uncover and identify personal strengths, values and interests. As well as, explore various difficulties and obstacles in your life that have made it challenging to live life effectively. My focus is not to “fix” you, nor have an agenda of how you “should” be living your life, but to walk along beside you, support you in meeting you where you are at and working on creating the life you imagined for yourself utilizining a variety of theraputic apparoaches which best meets your needs.
I use our first session as a time for us to get to know each other. You can set the pace and expect a calm, understanding and reflective space for you to share as much or as little, without judgment or pressure to share more than you feel ready too. If and when you feel up to sharing I can ask gentle questions to get to know about your interests/hobbies, strengths, values, support, beliefs/ spirituality, etc. As well as: what brings you to therapy, what has been challenging for you lately, what you are hoping to get from our sessions together. If you have any questions or concerns with my background, personality, experience and /or therapeutic approach and session style I am happy to share and discuss, within reason, if it is helpful for you. This session is beneficial in building the foundation and focus for the therapeutic relationship, treatment planning and sets the course for future sessions.
Having been in the mental health field and working with a variety of individuals from differing backgrounds and life experiences of my own, as well as my own personal life experiences (not just academia) and mental health challenges, has provided me the opportunity to grow as an individual and professional by being able recognize everyone has their own unique way of thinking, interpreting and interacting within society. With that in mind, I believe you are the one in control of what happens in sessions and will actively listen and reflect back what I am hearing, so that we are on the same page to support you in better understanding yourself and building a healthy relationship dynamic where you feel heard and understood. Once we have a trusting therapeutic relationship I will work with you on challenging unhealthy thinking patterns or behaviors and offer evidence based insights to healthier ways to think, manage emotions and interact with others which brings more ease, peace and joy to your life.
If you are struggling in varying life stages (primarly grade school and adulthood) or other major life changes/ transitions (grief/loss, new career or move, speration, etc.) or wanting to heal from past traumas and build healthier attachments/ In general openess and willingness to imrpove your quality of life and learn healthier ways of thinking and interacting with your world. Struggling with ADHD/ ASD symptoms and wanting to build more confidence, more agency over your life, and effective skills to overcomes barriers and work with your strengths.
I will work with you on what is within your control and what is not. Work with you on acknowledging the reality of the situation versus percived relaity and how you can choose to accept it, set boundaries and realistic expectations of our needs and what we can do to feel we have control of somehting that does not feel like it is within our control.
Provide knowledge on insecure and secure attachment styles which developed during our early formative years with our primary caregiver/s and how these attachment styles continue during our present relationships. I will work with you on idenitfying your specfic attachment styles and work on developling healthier skills to cultivate more secure attachments: boundaries and self advocacy.
Work with you on idenitfying how your thoughts drive your behaviors. Will look at various unhealthy thinking patterns and work to re-write new ones in order to imporve how you act/ behave in given situations. This is a collabertive and educational apporach and will have work to do in between sessions to track progress in order to improve thought processes and behaviors.
With this approach I take from various evidenced and emiperically based approaches; such as CBT, DBT, attachment, polyvagal, trauma-informed, narrative, art therapy. In order to meet you where you are at and work with your indvidualized needs/ circumstances to create a treament specfic to your unique goals.
If you are wanting a more intensive treatment, DBT is helpful to work on understanding your emotions and thoughts and learning healthier ways to regulate your emotions, thought processes, and relationships. Uses diary card to track moods and skills used to manage your thoughts and emotions. I will teach you mindfulness practices, TIPP's, DEAR MAN, STOP, and more skills to use on a daily basis.