Megan Negendank, LMFT, CST

I help hurting, worried couples & individuals heal from pain and create thriving lives & relationships. 

While I have been interested in relationships for as long as I can remember, my life changed when I studied adult relationship attachment styles at UC Santa Barbara.

Suddenly, the relationship struggles I was experiencing and noticing in my peers’ lives made sense!

I began having healthier relationships of my own–and I became inspired to become a marriage & family therapist.

I believe the relationship models we had growing up and our own experiences with family and past relationships impact our ability to connect with our partners.

Sometimes our models were unhealthy so we didn’t learn healthy ways to communicate.

Or sometimes we have been hurt badly by someone we loved—so it is hard to trust our current partner.

Therapy can help us understand and heal from the past so that we can have better relationships in the present.

I believe in the healing power of relationships.

We are hurt in relationships and we heal in relationships.

I grew up in a big family with three little sisters.

I’m now a parent and building a family of my own with my husband, who has been my partner for over 15 years.

Relationships can be hard–but creating secure, loving relationships is so worth it.

I work HARD to prioritize my own relationship.

I get the demands that modern couples face—balancing careers, family time, parenting challenges, social lives, home responsibilities—the list goes on!

It’s hard to stay connected to our partner in the midst of our busy lives, but it’s a daily choice to prioritize each other and I do believe it is possible.

I’m a survivor.

While I don’t get into the details, I believe my experiences have given me a gift of empathy and understanding for others.

I have worked for years on my own healing and I believe this has made me a better therapist.

My clients tell me I am calm, smart, non-judgmental and that they finally feel understood while working with me.

Knowing how alone we can feel when you don’t feel understood, this is the best compliment I can receive!

I’ve been partnered for 20 years, I’m mixed race, I have a really amazing kid and I’ve been running this really effing cool business for over a decade. I work with the best team in the world (do therapy with them!). All of this fills me with love. 🙂

…and just for fun: I’m a book worm, music lover, adventurer, creative, and I have a huge heart for my puppy dog, Zooey (rip 2022).

Articles by Megan