MSW, LCSW-S, Registered Play Therapist
Megan Young, MSW, LCSW-S, Registered Play Therapist, is a trauma-focused mental health therapist who uses an integrative approach to meet the needs of her clients. Megan believes taking time to build a trusting therapeutic relationship is the foundation of a successful counseling journey. Trust is created with unconditional positive regard, empathy, praise, encouragement, and patience through a mostly client-centered approach; however, other interventions are incorporated into the therapy process to raise awareness about various issues and enhance coping skills through grounding and mindfulness.
Megan earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Crime and Justice Studies from the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) in 2005. Megan worked for several years with children, families, and adults at Children’s Health Dallas in the inpatient psychiatric unit where she gained experience with a diverse range of mental health concerns: depression, anxiety, mood disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychosis, substance use, suicidal ideation, and behavioral issues. Another benefit was the exposure to a variety of therapeutic interventions to aid in recovery, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), play therapy, behavioral activation, expressive arts, mindfulness, and coping skills, play therapy interventions, and safety planning. Experience at Children’s Health provided the opportunity to gain insight from a multidisciplinary treatment team with distinct views on aspects of healing. Additionally, Megan provided support in the hospital, outpatient treatment, and pediatric eating disorder clinic.
In 2018, Megan graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) with a master’s degree in social work focusing on children and families. After receiving her licensure, she was asked to join the clinical department at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Kaufman County (CACKC), which is also where she completed her graduate practicum in social work. While at the CACKC, she was trained in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), play therapy interventions, and eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR). Megan worked in a multidisciplinary setting with law enforcement, CPS, and the district attorney’s office to provide wrap-around services for children, adults, and families who experienced abuse and trauma. She provided expert witness testimony, advocacy for families navigating the court system, outreach, fundraising, and social work and counseling intern supervision and development.
Additional professional and internship experiences include clinical therapist roles at Garland Behavioral Hospital providing group therapy, behavioral health assessments, treatment planning, and safety planning. Megan worked as a behavioral health assessor for the Medical City Healthcare system where she would assess patients and make recommendations for level of care and case management. Megan was a graduate intern at City House Plano providing case management and counseling services to children, adolescents, and young adults experiencing homelessness; and an undergraduate intern at the Turning Point: Rape Crisis Center of Collin County providing crisis management on the 24-hour crisis phone line and in the hospital setting, as well as outreach and education. In 2021, she joined the private practice group at Counseling and Wellness of Heath.
Seeing the need for services in Kaufman County, Megan opened Untying Knots Counseling in July of 2024 where she continues to provide trauma-informed care to children, adolescents, and adults. Although not everyone experiences trauma, she has found that most people with chronic mental health concerns likely have some exposure to traumatic events that affected their development. Social learning is an important theory in how people grow in their environments, but it is used as a tool to provide education about mental health and aid in healing. Megan focuses more on the relationship and trust, while using a client centered approach that allows the client to determine their own source of healing because the client is the expert in their own life, after-all. After many years of intensive training and supervision, she completed the registered play therapy (RPT) credentialing process, including training to become a certified sand tray therapist (CCST), and recently became a clinical supervisor with the excitement of providing supervision to LMSW’s.
Megan would be happy to set a up time to talk with you about your needs and see if we would be a good fit, either for counseling or clinical supervision! Megan serves the areas of Forney, Terrell, Heath, Kaufman, Crandall, Rockwall, Fate, Royse City, and surrounding areas, but is also accessible via telehealth to anyone in Texas!