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 my 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. I then earned clinical hours towards my licensure working in residential facilities, community mental health, and more. I started my own therapy practice in 2011, which I still run, and I also provide consultation and supervision services for many organizations in the greater Seattle area.

After the pandemic started in 2020, I decided I wanted to pursue writing more seriously, specifically working on understanding issues related to burnout and exhaustion and how it affects people working in the healthcare realm. That took me back to school where I earned my MFA in Creative Writing. My essays are about burnout, embodiment, and trauma recovery, and they blend personal narrative with pop culture explorations with research.

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. With all that is happening in the world around us, art is needed more than ever.

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 kiddo.

Author Bio:

Megan E. O’Laughlin (she/they) is a psychotherapist and artist whose writing can be found in The Rumpus, Watershed Review, Anti-Heroin Chic, Defunkt Magazine, Cleaver Magazine, and others. She is the cohosts the I’M TRIGGERED! Podcast which discusses depictions of mental health in movies and television. She is currently writing an essay collection about professional burnout and recovery. 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