Megan Kochheiser (she/her)

I have years of experience working with adolescents in school and community settings. I greatly enjoy connecting with adolescents, and find that they often feel comfortable working with me even if they are initially reluctant or unsure of counseling.

Many of my clients wrestle with or experience suicidal thoughts. I take a compassionate and collaborative approach to promoting safety and helping my clients build a life worth living. I use a variety of tools and approaches, including Collaborative Assessment & Management of Suicidality (CAMS).

While every person experiences stress, some periods of life bring stress that becomes unmanageable. I specialize in creating practical, useable stress management plans with clients. We can also work together to better understand your stress triggers and responses.

My introduction to providing therapy was in the field of Adventure/Wilderness Therapy. This highly engaging method of therapy provides clients with real-life opportunities to learn and practice various mental health skills. Adventure Therapy can be a fantastic tool for children and adolescents who are reluctant to do traditional talk therapy, but has benefits for anyone who chooses to engage in this method. You don't have to be a nature lover to benefit from Adventure Therapy sessions.

I incorporate Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) principles (mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance) into my work with most of my clients. This type of therapy provides clients with highly versatile tools to use in real-life situations. In graduate school, I won a 1st place award for my research on using DBT with adolescents. In my experience, almost anyone can find useful insights and tools from DBT sessions.

In addition to mental health treatment, I have significant experience in the prevention realm. Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) quickly identifies the client's issue and works to resolve them immediately. Clients engaging with SFBT often find that they quickly experience some degree of symptom relief, which can free them to then work on additional therapy goals if needed.