Health at Every Size® Healthcare Provider Listing
Meghan Darcy, LCSW, CCS
(she/her)
Clinician
VA/Private Practice
Portland,
Maine,
United States
Contact Me:
Make an Appointment:
Special Instructions: For general inquiries, please email me at mdarcylcsw@gmail.com
Takes Insurance
Not currently accepting new clients/patients
In-Network Insurance Companies:
- BCBS
- Aetna
- Cigna
- Carelon Behavioral Health
- Quest Behavioral Health
Specialties & Areas of Focus:
- Substance Use
- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Eating Disorder
- Gastric Bypass/Gastric Surgery
Modalities & Theoretical Lenses:
- Relational Therapy
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- ACT
Age Groups Served:
- Adults (18 years old and up)
- Adults (18 years old and up)
Additional Populations Served & Allied Groups:
- LGBTQIA+
- Trans and nonbinary folks
Languages Services Offered In:
- English
- English
My Philosophy of Care
Hello! My name is Meghan, I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and have been practicing in the field of Eating Disorder Treatment since 2013, and the field of Substance Use Treatment since 2018. Currently, I work full time as a Clinician at the VA, with a small virtual private practice specializing in Eating Disorders. I practice from a client-centered, trauma responsive and strengths-based approach, utilizing an eclectic combination of skills based interventions and evidenced based practices to effectively treat co-occurring populations.
My work with clients is grounded in the relational model of therapy, which highlights the core significance of the therapeutic connection as a vital tool in healing. In this role, I strive to connect with my clients in a safe, open and welcoming space in which to grow understanding of the underlying factors of their Substance Use and Eating Disorders, most commonly rooted in traumatic experience.
A particular focus of mine over the past few years has been growing a deeper understanding of the psychological and somatic trauma caused by gastric surgery. I feel deeply and passionately about advocating for my clients in medical spaces, and partnering with them to utilize the language and concepts of Health At Every Size in an effort to avoid unnecessary and ineffective gastric procedures.
About Me & My Practice
Eating disorder care I would consider my "first love" in the mental health field, and have built much of my career around seeking a deep understanding of this particular collection of symptoms. When I went to graduate school after working almost exclusively in this field, I knew I needed to experience something different, and began working with Substance Use. I found passion in this work as well, particularly in understanding the role of stigma and shame, and was first introduced to a harm reduction model of care. I saw so many similarities between SUD and ED, both functioning as tools to survive traumatic pain and assist the self in attempts to regulate.
Over the course of my career, I have witnessed many instances of fat-phobia in the eating disorder field, but lacked the language and understanding of how to address or challenge it. After leaving the Eating Disorder treatment field for a time, I returned to my "first love" at the end of 2020 and I found the spark reignited. I sought to learn everything I could about the changes that have happened in the field and make HAES a core of my clinical and professional work.
I also moved out of Boston, where I had worked for over 10 years, to Southern Maine. In Maine, I find myself working "uphill" in an effort to advocate for HAES, and without the resources I used to have working in a big city. I am shifting my focus to more advocacy and systems level work, as well as providing direct care.
Accessibility Considerations
My practice is virtual only, and i utilize the Headway platform to process administrative support. For telehealth appointments, clients are sent links through Doxy.me link that they can use for ease of access.