Megan Lear LMFT

In my first year of college I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I struggled with night terrors, insomnia, flashbacks and a pervasive sense of distrust. When the torment became unbearable I started psychotherapy, went on antidepressants and anxiolytics and set out on my healing journey. Most of my actions at this time worked to separate me from my body and symptoms and left me feeling exhausted, fragmented and unfulfilled. Driven by a yearning to heal and to know all parts of myself, I started exploring lucid dreaming, art, tantric yoga, Buddhism and meditation and psychedelics. My interest in flow states and the healing potential of the creative process led me to the field of Art Therapy. And over the last 16 years I have devoted my life to the intersections of art, psychology and spirituality. Within each field I found a truth reflected back at me, IN CARING FOR THE SELF WE DISCOVER THE SELF.

My graduate research research focused on Depth and Positive Psychologies, and examined flow states and the healing power of the creative process. I frequently weave this subject into sessions because I feel healing to be an inherently creative act. I believe that true, lasting healing comes from learning to honor pain as an essential aspect of the human experience, and to tend to our wounds with compassion. Navigating the questions surrounding identity, trauma and the meaning of life requires a willingness to investigate and in some cases deconstruct inherited beliefs and behavior patterns. From this place we can then reconstruct systems that align with the people we want to become and the lives we want to build. Together we can igniting healing and fulfillment by engaging in the life-affirming delight of creation. I’m here to help you to EXPLORE, EXPRESS AND EMBRACE your whole self.

In a word - neuroplasticity! I think that the discovery of neuroplasticity is one of the most exciting messages to come out of neuroscience in the last 100 years. I'm fascinated by the brain's ability to change and heal itself and always looking for new techniques to explore and rewire my own neural networks for success. This passion is ultimately what led me to study of both meditation and psychedelics.

• American Samoa, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, 130241

In the beginning of my career I worked at a community center that was primarily serving UC students in the Santa Cruz area. From there I began working in substance use and started a co-occuring/dual-diagnosis program at an out-patient clinic in Grass Valley, CA. It was here that I began to seek certification and started specializing in the treatment of PTSD and C-PTSD. From there I moved to a company called Community Beyond Violence in and worked with women and children survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Since 2022 I've split time between private practice and working as lead therapist for a ketamine clinic doing psychedelic-assisted therapy and integration.