Meara Queen

I integrate evidence-based approaches, including emotion-focused therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy, and I match them to your concerns and goals. Most often I focus on direct emotional change. Changing thoughts and behaviors can be useful, and it is often frustrating when it is the only thing we do. Emotion-focused work helps you understand and use emotions, and it aims at the emotional experience itself. I often integrate cognitive behavioral therapy for some symptoms, and acceptance and commitment therapy when we need another way to look at thoughts and at how behavior can change.

I also draw on exposure and response prevention, interpersonal and attachment-based work, and solution-focused therapy. I use a trauma-informed approach, and we can unpack how the past may be affecting your present. Please do not worry about sharing too much, including sex, an uncomfortable physical symptom, or an intrusive thought. Together we can build insight and understanding toward your patterns and emotional needs.

Before therapy starts, I like a brief chat with potential clients so we can see whether we will work well together. That conversation does not constitute therapy and does not establish a therapeutic relationship. Its purpose is only to look at fit, and at whether my services and style might be appropriate for what you need. We start from your emotional experience, and I welcome feedback about whether the way we are working fits.

I work with adults, and only in individual therapy at this time. The people who fit are often stuck in distress around trauma, emotional abuse, anxiety, depression, family conflict, or relationships that leave them disconnected. You don't need to be having issues related to sex to come see me, and I encourage you to talk about sex, sexuality, or anything that may make you feel nervous. I also have specific knowledge related to consensual non-monogamy, ethical non-monogamy, polyamory, swinging, open relationships, and BDSM/kink. I also like working with social anxiety, career questions, sleep, body image, perfectionism, stress, and obsessive-compulsive concerns. LGBTQ+ clients are part of who I see.

I am warm and nonjudgmental, and I will let you know when you are getting in your own way. I bring emotion-focused therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, exposure and response prevention, and interpersonal work, used together rather than as a fixed programme. I focus on the emotional system, not only on thinking differently about a problem.

I have worked with trauma, emotional abuse, anxiety, depression, relationships, and sexual wellness. I am an author of a 2021 paper on strengths-based assessment education and undergraduate students' knowledge of disorders and mental illness stigma.