Margaret McGonegal, MA, LCPC

Life’s challenges happen suddenly.  Without warning it feels like you can’t navigate through with confidence and calm.  Instead, you are plagued with things like worry, hesitation, anxiety, and depression.

At times, life feels like a ticking time bomb, and you are desperately searching for an effective means to diffuse it.  But your coping skills aren’t working well enough, or maybe they weren’t that healthy in the first place.  How are you supposed to get comfortable with the challenges you are experiencing, let alone feel you are responding in a healthy way, when everything around you – maybe even your person – can be so unpredictable?

You are experiencing the stress of going through a transition.  Maybe you’ve heard it before that life is a journey. But right now, it’s as if you are at a crossroads after a detour and are unable to move.

Like all journeys, no matter how well organized, it will include disruptions and alterations that can stop you in your tracks.  These challenges rise up like barriers that cannot be overcome.  You start to believe that you should just get used to things the way they are – that you should just focus on surviving and stop trying to live the life you want.

Although they may seem like it, the obstacles are not insurmountable.

We should talk.  Therapy can help you thrive not just survive.

Together we focus on your journey – one of healing.  As you move forward, you gain your bearings and confidence.  It is a therapeutic process that helps you overcome the barriers and rise above the challenges.  While beginning this therapeutic journey can feel overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be.  Let me walk with you while we take the first step of 100 towards lasting change.  Unlike the issues that got you to this point, we are going to focus on you taking control and creating the change that works for you.  Start to greet every day and every experience with optimism instead of dread, fear, and uncertainty. We will do this one step at a time.

More About Me

I have a special interest and understanding of the mind/body connection.  Prior to returning to school to pursue my psychology degree, I worked in the healthcare field as an exercise physiologist and as a medical instrument technician with cardiac patients.  Additionally, my medical background facilitated my clinical work with cancer patients in my clinical internship.

As a result of my background in the medical field, I have a special understanding of how our emotional and physical health affects one another.  In our work together, I use both mindfulness and strength-based approaches to help ease feelings of anxiety, depression, and distress while addressing any substance abuse or other unhelpful habits.

I enjoy working with anyone who seeks to actively engage in the process. Regardless of the reason for seeking therapy, everyone has their own experience and perspective – it is an honor to work with them.

Clinical focus includes life transitions, trauma, anxiety, and depression.