Megan R. West, MS, LPC, CADC III
Megan West established RiverBend Wellness after maintaining a variety of roles within community mental health for over
fifteen years.
Megan attended Oregon State University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a Master of Science degree in Community Counseling. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC III), and Certified Mental Health Investigator in the state of Oregon.
Ms. West utilizes an eclectic theoretical approach with an emphasis on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). She also has extensive training in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Collaborative Problem Solving, Motivational Interviewing, Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD).
Megan is a volunteer with the Deschutes County Public Health Reserve Corps, the Oregon State Emergency Response Network of Volunteers (SERV-OR), the Central Oregon EMDR Trauma Recovery Network, and the Central Oregon Critical Incident Stress Management (COCISM) Team.
Megan has significant experience working with both teens and adults addressing symptoms related to depression, anxiety, grief and loss, addictions, eating and weight issues, sexual issues, and trauma and PTSD, while working with and alongside primary care doctors, psychiatrists, schools, case managers, and other community providers through a collaborative care model. For close to a decade, Megan lead the Deschutes County women’s anger management and domestic violence diversion program. She is also trained in facilitating Women’s Seeking Safety classes, as well as alcohol and drug recovery groups. Megan has responded and continues to respond to critical local and state incidents including public/mass shootings, murder/suicide cases, car accidents, fires, and other traumatic events, providing crisis treatment and debriefing support to first responders and community members. She has also been honored to provide internship supervision to Oregon State University Master’s in Counseling students for the past five years.
As a parent of two boys (with one being a teen), Megan understands the many intricacies within the various roles we all hold in our lives. She sees herself more as a peer with clients, rather than as “teacher” or “expert”, believing that we truly know and understand ourselves better than anyone else, and often just need a little guidance or direction to uncover those answers within.
Megan firmly believes in a strengths-based approach, recognizing that despite life’s struggles, we all have inherent skills and abilities that have carried us through our toughest times, and through building on these, we are eventually able to find hope, healing, and true happiness. Megan uses compassion, empathy and humor (where appropriate) to help guide clients through their restorative process. The counseling process should NOT be unnecessarily painful or traumatic, but rather uplifting, motivating, encouraging and inspiring.
Meet Rocket!
As part of our commitment to providing a comfortable and safe environment for all clients,
we want to let you know that Megan does keep a therapy pup in office.
Rocket, a Street Dog Hero rescue pup from Mexico, is a young therapy pup in training and a friendly companion,
who has been an incredible joy for many clients during their healing processes.
We understand however that some individuals may have allergies or sensitivities to dogs or pet dander.
We want to ensure that your well-being is a top priority, and we are taking proactive measures to address any concerns you may have. While we maintain a clean and hygienic office environment, we understand that allergies can vary in severity, and exposure to pet dander may still pose a risk.
If you have any known allergies or concerns related to interacting with dogs, we kindly ask you to consider this and discuss with Megan prior to treatment, in an attempt to accommodate your needs or explore alternative solutions to ensure your comfort and safety during your time with us.
We hope you’ll love him as much as he’ll love you!