LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER

Hi! I’m Megan!

I am enthusiastic about almost everything, from how much I love the smell of new and old books to how much I despise filling out paperwork (cue existential dread).

Growing up, I was told that I’m too sensitive– which is true! I am super sensitive. To a beautiful sunset, subtle changes in the emotional energy around me, tags on my shirt, you name it. I’ve learned that my sensitivity is what allows me to deeply understand other people and figure out how to help them.

I’ve also learned I’m a bit like an orchid– in the wrong conditions, I languish (I’m looking at you traffic & messy spaces) but in the right conditions, I thrive (shout out soft lighting, peaceful sounds, & real friendships). Through my own therapy, I learned to embrace my sensitivity and create a life I am passionate about.

My story

I developed an eating disorder in my teens. I started recovery at age 18, and by age 20, I was fully recovered.

The eating disorder symptoms and behaviors that scared my family and tortured me were gone. If anyone had asked me then, I would have said I was fully recovered.

Fast forward to age 23:

I looked back on myself just two years prior, and could not believe I had considered myself fully recovered! I had still been so rigid and fearful, so out of touch with what I really wanted. Now, I thought, I had fully recovered.

Fast forward to age 27:

I looked back at my 23 year old self and was aghast I had considered that full eating disorder recovery! Sure, I had been adequately nourished, but I wasn’t free. I could see that the eating disorder had still been present, albeit in subtle ways. Back then, I was still so afraid to take up space, to be assertive, to go after what I wanted. Surely now, at age 27, I had achieved full recovery.

Until I arrived at age 34 and looked back, only to realize I had still been carrying traces of the old eating disorder with me!

I had still been so concerned with what others thought of me, so self critical. Now, at age 34, I had found a peace I hadn’t imagined was possible for me.

But this time I knew this wasn’t my full recovery potential.

I now understand that I will continue to grow and find more of my true self in the process. My hope is that in another 5 years, I will look back at myself today and realize I have found an even freer, kinder way of being me.

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 Professional Information

    • University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC): 2010 Bachelor's Degree in Community Studies with a focus on Sex, Gender & Sexuality; Minor in Psychology (Go Slugs!)

    • San José State University (SJSU): 2015 Master’s in Social Work with a focus on Health and Mental Health

    • Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW): 2022 -Present

      • California License: #LCSW107498

    • Residential Treatment Therapist: Provided family and group therapy specializing in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and skill building to clients requiring 24 hour a day medical and psychological care as a result of an eating disorder. Provided meal support and behavioral interventions.

    • Partial Hospitalization Program/ Intensive Outpatient Program Therapist (PHP/IOP): Provided individual, group and family therapy to clients requiring day treatment for their eating disorders. Created personalized treatment plans and facilitated coordination of care with a multidisciplinary team. Discharge planning and outpatient treatment team building.

    • Family Based Therapy (FBT- The Maudsley Method): (2023)

      • This evidence-based treatment modality can help adolescents recover from an eating disorder at home with their families support rather than having to uproot their lives to attend treatment.

    • Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT): (2020) 

      • EFFT helps families better manage intense emotions and improve their connection to one another. It is especially helpful in the context of supporting a loved one with an eating disorder or mental illness.

A question I often get is:

As a therapist, do you float around the world, never feeling big messy feelings, sipping tea serenely?

Kidding! Alas, I have yet to transcend being human.

If you prefer to hold onto that vision of blank serenity for me, you probably already know too much!

If you’d like to learn more, read on.

Fun fact, anyone?

  • Growing up in Fresno, I was called “weird” a lot. Now that I’ve spent much of my adult life in Santa Cruz and San Francisco, I hear that I’m “quirky” more. I also get told I’m kind of basic here, which is actually really fun for me after being the weird one all those years.

  • I love a silly prank. Once a friend rearranged all my furniture before I got home, and I have never been so delighted. Oh, I got her back, don’t worry.

  • My introduction to social justice was reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X at age 16. Still an all time favorite book.

  • My favorite feminist text is The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf. It fueled my fire for recovery.

  • I read 5-6 books at one time. Some people relate, others are horrified.

  • I collect magnets. My refrigerator is almost entirely covered. I dream of being a minimalist, but my fridge says otherwise.

  • So we’re on this floating rock, hurtling through infinite space, while orbiting a giant ball of nuclear fusion… but we have to use our miraculous consciousness on going to the DMV… paying taxes... following clocks and calendars which are just made up anyways… sometimes the absurdity of it is just too much for me.

  • I started listening to Chappell Roan back in 2021 before she made it big. That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever done.