Hello!

My name is Megan O’Laughlin. I own Megan O’Laughlin Creative, the entity under which I write nonfiction essays, provide editorial services, offer creative coaching, and more. For my “day job,” I work as a therapist, clinical supervisor, and mental health consultant under Megan O’Laughlin Therapy + Consultation PLLC. 

I was raised in academia and grew up in different parts of the country, including Minnesota, Texas, and Idaho. As a kid, I doodled on any scrap piece of paper I could find and penned stories about cats in outer space. In college I studied visual art and earned a BFA in painting and sculpture. Unsure of a career path, I served for two years with The Peace Corps in The Gambia, followed by more years of travel and exploration. Driven by experiences and interests related to mental health and social justice, I eventually settled in the Puget Sound area and studied social work at The University of Washington, earning my MSW in 2007. 

After working in service and mental health for over twenty years, I’ve recently returned to my roots of creative exploration, recognizing how writing, art and collaboration bring balance to my life. Through writing, I explore the inevitabilities of practitioner burnout in an ineffective medical system, finding physical embodiment in a disembodied world, and the nuances of trauma recovery.  

I’m passionate about bringing art to the world and helping others do the same, whether as a therapist, an editor, a coach, or even as a podcaster telling stories. As we continually witness and experience harm and difficulties, creative vision is needed more than ever. None of us are free until all of us are free.

When I’m not working on one of my many projects, I’m often in the gym lifting weights like Method Man, baking delicious treats, trying to get through my ever-growing stack of books, or roaming the seaside with my dog and family.

Author Bio:

Megan E. O’Laughlin (she/they) is a psychotherapist and artist whose essays can be found in Watershed Review, Anti-Heroin Chic, Defunkt Magazine, Cleaver Magazine, and others. She is the Managing Editor of The Black Fork Review and cohosts the I’M TRIGGERED! Podcast. She is currently writing an essay collection about wounded healers. Megan lives on a peninsula by the sea in Washington State.

More information:

• BFA in Studio Art from University of Idaho, 2000

• MSW from University of Washington, 2007

• MFA in Creative Writing from Ashland University, 2023

• Co-host of the I’M TRIGGERED podcast

• Managing Editor for the Black Fork Review

• CNF Reader for Reckon Review

• Behavioral Health Writer for TCI, including articles, newsletters, and website copy

• Nonfiction editor for the Black Fork Review, 2022-2023