Let’s Get Acquainted…
About
Megan Plumstead, PsyD, Licensed Psychologist
With more than a decade of experience in hospitals, clinics, and private practice, Dr. Megan Plumstead is guided by the belief that there is more that’s right with people, than is wrong with people. There is a lot about the way we live that contributes to the feeling of disconnection and destabilization that so many of us feel. And yet, few of us were ever taught the skills to navigate the seemingly simple (but actually pretty complex) worlds that we live in. Megan believes in normalizing this struggle as universal, untangling the complicated experience of living, and helping people build confidence and clarity to live a simpler, more intentional life.
Q&A With Megan
What’s your background?
Like most of us, it takes a winding road to get to here from there. My desire to have real conversations about things that matter, plus a hearty belief in our innate ability to adapt and grow, led me to the field of psychology. But it wasn’t always that clear. Prior to graduate school, I worked as a television news producer for a small news affiliate and dabbled in publishing as a publicist. There were definitely some years spent “lost”, but looking back, I can now see the thread throughout. I was craving a career based on authentic connection. I went on to earn a doctorate at the University of St. Thomas.
What gets you excited about working with therapy clients?
I get super excited about reminding my clients that they are experiencing a human reaction to human events. You’d be surprised how quickly we all forget this. I get excited about empowering and energizing others through self-reflection, internal life skills, and external support structures. And I get excited about the ways that acceptance and prevention— seemingly completely opposite ideas— work together. I support prevention of needless suffering, of making choices for the wrong reasons, of being in relationships or jobs too long or not staying long enough. And yet I believe acceptance of discomfort and painful emotions and experiences, not always preventing them, is crucial to understanding ourselves and our choices. We need both.
What’s your understanding about how change happens?
From a young age, I’ve been fascinated by how choice and intention can change our lives. I get really excited by the micro-moments in our lives, the moments so small and automatic that they often go unnoticed. And yet in that micro-moment is a ton of potential! I try to help clients notice and build on their unique micro-moments. Small things, done repeatedly, aren’t small things.
“I’m a big fan of the ‘aha’ moments. But they’re not much use if they aren’t integrated into the ‘now’ of our lives.”
