What sparked your interest in psychology and therapy?
Hi, my name is Maggie LeVaughn and I’m a mental health therapist here at Optimum Joy. When I was in high school, I took an AP psych class that completely changed my worldview on psychology and the world of psychology. Learning about the brain and all its little quirks was the most fascinating thing to me in the entire world. The fact that we could live such similar lives and be completely different people, or even different lives and be really similar people, is one of the most fascinating things to me in life.
I love getting to know about people through their mental health. What is going on in their brain right now? How do they process the world? How do they process what’s right in front of them? People in their lives, all of those things—everything is stored in the brain. Whether we remember it or it’s subconscious, unconscious, anything like that, everything about ourselves is stored in our brain. And I think that’s the most amazing thing in the whole world. So when I was in high school and was learning all about it, I was like, “I want to do this. I want to learn about people. I want to talk to people. I want to pick at their brains, so to speak.”
How did you discover art therapy?
I found the world of therapy after graduating from undergrad. I took a couple years off to kind of figure out what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go in life. And I really discovered art, and that was really almost like a passion project for me. I didn’t really have any hobbies at the time, and I found this thing that really connected with me.
And one day, while I was working at a coffee shop, I was doodling, and one of my coworkers, who was a social worker, looked over and saw what I was doing and knew that I was really interested in therapy and said, “Have you ever heard of art therapy?” And I was like, “No, that’s a thing? That’s something that they offer?” And I started doing research into it, and it blended my two loves of the brain and art together. And the rest is history. Went to grad school, did the whole thing, and now we’re here.
What is your favorite part of being a therapist?
My favorite thing about being a therapist is watching clients have that “aha” moment, where they start to piece things together for themselves, and they’re like, “Oh, I see that this is really working for me,” or, “this worksheet that you gave me really helped me,” or this technique, or whatever the case is.
I find that a lot of clients walk in expecting the therapist to do all of the work for them, and slowly but surely, they start doing it for themselves and start applying it to their everyday life. And seeing that joy on their face when it starts to really click for them is the most amazing thing in the entire world that I’ve ever experienced.
How would you describe your therapeutic style?
I find that a lot of the time, in the therapeutic setting, people are expecting someone to be very rigid, and to be very almost “know-it-all” to a sense. I try to curate a space where I’m learning with you as well. We’re going on this journey together. And I think what’s also really important to understand about therapists in general is we’re people just like you. So, we have our own common interests, we have our own daily things that we do in our lives.
I try to be someone who can bring that realness into the therapeutic setting as well. I’m not afraid to talk about myself when it is relevant, obviously, when it is important, or when it can really build that rapport and that trust between therapist and client. I don’t really identify as a therapist who is sort of like a brick wall or is expecting you to do all of the work. I love being collaborative. That’s why I’m also very solution-focused. I love looking for solutions. I love talking about solutions. And a lot of my practice is also very person-centered, which basically means that you’re the one steering the ship, and I’m kind of right behind you, guiding you. I’m not going to tell you exactly what to do. I’m there beside you to help you kind of on your own healing journey.
What brings you joy and what do you do for fun?
What brings me joy is really my family. I’m very close with my siblings. I’m very close with my mom. And they just mean the absolute world to me. Community is really important to me. So having really close friends, really close family—that brings me immense joy. I would also say reading and video games bring me a lot of joy as well. That’s kind of what I’m doing in my spare time. What heals me a little bit is getting into my nerdy side of things. I love reading fantasy. I love playing video games with my family and my partner. So those things just really always brighten my day.
Outside of the office, aside from reading or playing games, I’m really into art. I do a lot of acrylic painting, watercolor, markers, anything like that. I am an art therapist, so I really gravitate towards creativity. I love being able to apply it in my everyday life as well. It really saved me during some hardships during my time, so I love to apply that to therapy, but also to my own everyday healing journey as well.
Which communities and populations do you specialize in?
As an art therapist, I really love working with other creatives. But just because I do art therapy doesn’t mean that you’re expected to do art in the room with me. I love working also with individuals who are neurodivergent and want to test out new things. Sometimes talking can be really hard for people, so applying those different modalities is really important to me.
I also identify as part of the LGBTQ+, so I love working with that community as well. I’ve worked really closely with individuals struggling in dating or personal relationships. I identify as a sex and kink positive therapist. So I love working with any individual kind of struggling in the dating or relationship realm. But I’m really open to working with anyone. I’ve worked with all walks of life, from young children to older adults.
What would you say to someone starting therapy for the first time?
If this is your first time being in the counseling setting, I know it’s going to be really scary. It’s really, really difficult to talk about your problems with someone you’ve never met before. But just know that this space is inherently for you. It is meant for you to feel as comfortable as possible, to talk about whatever you need to, completely judgment-free.
And this is a collaborative effort. So don’t expect to just sit here and talk at a brick wall. We will work together on what would work best for you in your healing journey—whether that’s art or just talking through things. Sometimes it really helps people to just hear their own thoughts. I know in my own therapy, that’s really helped me—just being able to talk out loud with what’s been going on in my head. Worksheets, any referrals, resources, anything like that—this is a space entirely catered to you. It’s uniquely for you and it will always be that way. So while it feels really scary, just know that we are going to curate the perfect space exactly for you.
