Megan R Furnish, MSW

Just a couple years ago, if someone would have described my current life to me, I wouldn’t have believed it. My life has transformed radically, and much of it is due to the skill and care of Megan Furnish! When I started seeing Megan a couple years ago, a very difficult marriage and poor work boundaries dominated my life, and I had a problematic self-​concept. I pretty much lived in a state of constant anxiety and blamed myself for much any negativity in my life. I believed the things my marriage told me about myself: If I only worked harder, if I only made different commitments, if only I were a nicer, more understanding, better person. I escaped my troubling home life by diving into a stressful job and also created an unhealthy reliance on my professional identity. This was manifesting in my physical body in the form of digestive issues, fatigue, poor sleep, migrating pain in my neck, back, and shoulders.
With Megan’s help, I made realizations that inspired me to leave a difficult marriage, I got through a divorce that involved children, started dating again, have learned to negotiate work boundaries, and perhaps most importantly — learned to see and trust myself. I now am remarried in a healthy, loving, balanced partnership. My children are thriving in my new blended family. Work has found it’s right place, and my health is improving. And really, I’m just happy. I’m really happy.
Megan is an interdisciplinary practitioner at her core, and she blends her knowledge of a variety of approaches into something natural, fluid, and appropriate for each individual. She is a very clear communicator and articulates complex ideas without the use of jargon, though I know she has the background to use discipline-​specific language if she wanted to (or if a client wanted that); she certainly has the training. Sessions are about the client, not about her expertise. She’s full of love, heart, and kindness, but she’s no pushover. She is strong and sharp and clear. I think of her as a blend of a hard-​edged realist with New Jersey roots and a classic Portlander who values yoga, naturopathy, mediation, and Eastern philosophies.
Though she has extensive training in different modalities, I never feel like she applying a one-​size-​fits-​all approach. Personally, EMDR is the modality that resonates with me the most, though we often just do standard psychotherapy. I’ve done some couples counseling with her that incorporated Imago dialogues without it feeling hokey. We simply use the approach that best suits the issue.
Because she is such a safe person and talented therapist, I feel empowered and confident to address the really hard challenges that arise in our sessions that I might otherwise brush off for my pat narratives that are readily available. But instead, she guides me to push though common understandings and encourages me to discover new truths. She has the skill to help me focus, go deeper, and take action. I get to discover my own ideas in a constructivist approach that is both process– and outcome-​oriented. Even when I have difficult sessions in which I confront intense personal issues, I always feel better whenever I walk out of her office, more confident, more prepared, more insightful.
I know Megan specializes in birth and labor, but I have not explored those issues in any depth with her. I know her to be expert in other female-​specific issues of trauma, like domestic violence, rape recovery, and eating disorders. She has extensive background with couples, too. I am also a woman of color and a feminist, and that Megan understands social justice issues is critical to me: race, class, gender, and sexuality — and how these identities and oppressions impact one’s experience of the world and thus individual psychology.
I have seen therapists on and off for nearly 20 years now, going whenever major issues arise and my budget allows. Note: I go to therapy even when things are going well in my life. I see it in the same light as going to the gym or a yoga class. It is a mental and emotional practice and does for my mind what a physical practice does for my body. In fact, if I could afford it, I would see Megan once a week. Our sessions are well worth the time, money, and effort.
I whole-​heartedly recommend Megan Furnish. In fact, with my friends, I have to be intentional about not being «evangelical» about her because I believe she is so wonderful. Beyond being a skilled practitioner, Megan is a genuinely good person. I adore her and am full of gratitude that I’ve had her guidance for my journey. The Portland community is lucky to have her here.
*I know this is a ridiculously long review, with perhaps TMI (yikes), but I really want to be clear about how awesome Megan is in so many distinct ways.