Megan McCarthy

“When the pain is already there, it’s compassionate to look at it.”
— Gabor Maté

From the moment we are born, we are wired for love and belonging. When those needs are unmet or disrupted, the pain often shows up in ways that feel confusing, overwhelming, or hard to name. Many people learn to manage, control, avoid, or override that pain in order to function and survive. Over time, these adaptations—while once protective—can leave you feeling stuck in patterns that no longer serve you.

In therapy, I help clients slow down and turn toward their pain with clarity and compassion. Together, we identify the patterns that have shaped how you relate to yourself and others, understand where they came from, and interrupt those patterns in real time by slowing down, noticing what’s happening internally, and choosing different responses. I believe living the life you want starts with naming your pain and changing how you have coped with.

My work is trauma-informed, attachment-focused, and person-centered. In the room, I am engaged, present, and direct. I pay close attention to what is happening emotionally and relationally in real time and help clients stay connected to their bodies, emotions, and inner experience as we work. The trust and safety that develops in this process is not incidental—it is a central part of the healing itself.

Clients often describe my presence as nurturing, warm, wise, direct, and at times, humorous.

Outside the therapy room, you’ll find me playing with my daughters, rewatching sitcoms with my husband, laughing and crying with friends, scouring Facebook Marketplace, and enthusiastically pretending to be an interior designer whenever someone lets me decorate their home.

Megan is a LPC-MHSP (temp) working under the supervision of Ashley Boyd, LPC-MHSP-S.