Dr. Meghan Brown, PsyD

I am a licensed Clinical Psychologist who has been practicing since beginning training in 2003. I graduated with my doctorate in 2010 and obtained my license in 2013. In my work with adults and adolescents in individual therapy, I focus on awareness, exploration, and acceptance of the self. I believe that even as you identify your difficulties and work towards change, it is crucial that you understand how you came to be who you are and realize your innate worth. My goal is to help you gain insight into yourself in the context of your relationships, your history, and society at large so that you have greater freedom to choose how to respond to your circumstances and to live in accordance with your values. In my work, I’m mindful of sociocultural factors related to various aspects of identity and social location (race, ethnicity, immigration status, sex and gender, religious affiliation, sexual and romantic orientation, and so on) and I have experience with clients from a multitude of backgrounds. While I believe there is more to us than demographic variables, I recognize the impact of these aspects of our lives on clients, myself, mental health, and the therapeutic process. My style is empathic, flexible, warm, humorous, and non-judgmental. My priority is for you to benefit from therapy, so I always welcome your feedback in the service of that objective. I tend to think about people from psychodynamic and attachment perspectives, which emphasize early relational experiences, but I use interventions from cognitive-behavioral, existential, and humanistic approaches as well.

Much of my career and training have been spent working with people with histories of involvement with the criminal justice system. I have developed expertise in anger management, substance abuse and recovery, interpersonal violence, self-harm, and paraphilias through treating probationers, parolees, and inmates. These experiences enabled me to work comfortably and effectively with some of the most difficult-to-discuss behaviors and issues people may be trying to manage. I also enjoy working with depression, anxiety, suicidality and self-harm, trauma, minority stress and identity development, personality disorders, grief and loss, and living with chronic illness and pain. I worked with the LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS communities at The San Diego LGBT Community Center where I conducted individual, couple, and group therapy and facilitated domestic violence offender groups. My experience with violent behavior, substance abuse, and sex offenders was obtained through my work at Professional Community Services, SHARPER Future, and Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County. In recent years, I have engaged in more clinical supervision with unlicensed therapists and students, providing consultation and oversight as a part of their professional training.