ABOUT SAMANTHA
Hello! My name is Samantha Meyer and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor. I have a M.Ed. in Counseling from The University of Texas at Austin. Since completing my graduate education, I have been a counselor in Higher Education, K-12, community, and private practice settings. As a therapist, I employ humanistic, cognitive, and behavioral techniques to understand my client’s experience of the world, and work collaboratively to develop a plan to help them meet their goals.
I have known I wanted to be a therapist since I was in high school. My affinity for this profession came from seeing the profound impact of therapy on my loved ones from a young age. Seeing the immense relief that my loved ones experienced after receiving mental healthcare inspired me to enter into this field, and I’ve found that being a therapist allows me to use my empathy, intuition, and critical thinking skills to help others heal.
I moved to Austin in 2012 to obtain my undergraduate degree in Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin. While completing my studies, I fell in love with the city of Austin and the community that I found here. I continued my education at UT Austin and graduated with my M.Ed. in Counseling in 2018.
After completing my graduate education, I hit the ground running working with some of the highest needs individuals in the city at my job with Integral Care, the county mental health authority. My clients were adults with severe mental illnesses, including diagnoses of Schizophrenia, Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorder. Many of my clients also lived in extreme poverty. Working at Integral Care made me a fierce advocate for my clients, and ignited a passion for social justice work that increases resources for marginalized members of my community.
After my work at Integral Care, I was a therapist at I was a therapist at Meridell Achievement Center, a residential treatment center for teens, where I provided individual and family therapy to adolescents who presented with severe behavioral challenges. Most recently, I had the privilege of working for three years at Moving Part’s Psychotherapy, a leader in trauma informed care in Austin, providing individual and couples therapy to adults and teens.
Additionally, I am the founder of ATX Mental Health Fund, a mutual aid fund that provides direct cash assistance to Austin residents that need help covering expenses related to mental healthcare. We have distributed just shy of $100,000 in micro-grants to Austin residents over the last three years. I am passionate about the inclusivity and accessibility of mental healthcare, and I view social justice advocacy as essential to my therapy practice.
In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and poetry, seeing live music, reading, finding the best food in Austin, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.
Now that you know a little bit about me, read on for information about what therapy is like with me..
THERAPY WITH SAMANTHA
I believe my clients are the experts on their own experiences, and I strive to create a therapeutic space where my clients can safely explore their pasts while learning skills to stay grounded in their present.
I am flexible and implement a variety of interventions depending on a client’s unique needs. Although therapy can get heavy, I strive to find lightness and humor where we can, and develop a genuine and positive connection with each of my clients.
I am, for lack of a better term, a huge nerd.
I love learning about psychological theory, cutting edge treatment modalities, empirically validated research, and the beauty and complexity of the human experience. While I have completed my graduate education, I know that there is always more to learn, and I am always looking for opportunities to expand my knowledge and skills. A defining feature of my practice is that I invite my clients to learn along with me. I make sure to take time to explain relevant information to my clients, and learn from them in return.
Advocacy has always been essential to my therapy practice. I believe that therapy should be inclusive, empowering, and accessible. I am committed to providing culturally responsive services, and promoting social justice as a counselor and human being. I strive to create a safe space for clients to explore experiences of oppression and injustice. While my clients engage in therapy as individuals, I am deeply interested in the systems in which individuals live, and the impact of those systems on my clients mental health. I believe striving for healing in an unjust world is both radical and necessary.
My clinical specialization areas include working with adolescents and young adults who present with concerns related to trauma, depression, anxiety, life transitions, and attachment issues. Additionally, I excel in working with adolescents and their families to address severe behavioral challenges including Oppositional Defiant Disorder and chronic suicidal ideation. I am trained to provide EMDR Trauma Processing therapy, and I have a passion for helping individuals who have experienced trauma regain a sense of safety. I have experience working with children, adults, individuals, families and couples. A complete list of my areas of specialization and advanced trainings can be found below.
A few things that I want all of my future clients to know:
1. Therapy is a collaborative process. I will meet you where you are in your healing process, and stay present with you as we gain insight and find solutions together. We will find what actually works for YOU, not what you’ve been told “should” work for you.
2. Often, the negative behaviors that you are hoping to address in therapy were once adaptive and felt necessary for your survival. I will never shame you for what you have learned to do to survive, and invite you to discover a softness towards past versions of yourself that brought you to place of healing.
3. As a therapist I will provide a mix of validation and empowerment. Part of what we do will be reflective- processing your past experiences and building self-awareness and self-compassion. The other part of what we do will be active- bringing this newfound insight outside of our sessions and practicing coping skills that improve your quality of life.
Whatever brought you here, I want to validate the bravery it takes to seek therapy. This process will be heavy and challenging at times, and I hope at times also joyful, and I would be honored to be a part of your healing.