We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maggie Reid a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Maggie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s go back in time to when you were an intern or apprentice – what’s an interesting story you can share from that stage of your career?

In 2018 I got a job at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles as an Art Therapy Intern. I was working on my Masters and needed a job in the field of Expressive Arts Therapy. I thought it would be fun to work with kids, especially kids that are going through a difficult time in the hospital. I had no idea the joy and sadness this internship would bring. As I began my journey doing Art Therapy bedside, I realized that I wasn’t just treating the patient, but the whole family. I would try to find creative ways for them to process the trauma of having a sick child. Looking back, I am hopeful that I helped them gain coping skills that they continue to use today. During this internship I had put on a brave face while being confronted with eminent grief. In these moments, working with these families, I started to learn the value of mental health care for this kind of trauma. I saw the value of enhancing coping skills, processing grief, understanding feelings and reducing stress and anxiety using the arts. Several years later, in 2022, I was faced with my own medical trauma, after delivering my son at 26-weeks gestation. I looked at his 1 pound 13-ounce body in a sea of cords and I wept. It was in this dark moment that I started to realize that I had the tools to get through this. I really believe my strength and my positive spirit is what helped my son survive. I started to use the arts and it enhanced my coping skills and helped me process this grief. I was also able to understand my feelings and reduce stress and anxiety. During the 111 days that my son was in the NICU, the arts became part of my daily practice. I am so grateful for everything I learned working with Children in the hospital. I would love to take what I know, along with my lived experience, to help parents who have babies in the NICU.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Maggie Reid and I am a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) and a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT). I have over six years of experience doing Expressive Arts Therapy in the field. I work in the same way a typical therapist would work, exploring relationships, expressing emotions, working on social skills, discovering healthy coping skills, really any roadblock a person may have from being their very best self. But in my practice, I also use the arts in the therapeutic journey. This can include music, visual art, movement, magic, writing, and beyond. My practice is truly client-centered. Everyone has their own unique situation, and my goal is to tailor our work to their very personal needs.

During graduate school I worked with Alzheimer’s patients, rehabilitating gang members and Children in the hospital. I was able to help people improve self-worth, process grief and connect with good memories using the arts.

For the past three years, post-grad school, I was working for Family Service Agency of Burbank. With this community mental health organization, we went into schools and offered free and low-cost therapy services to kids in grades K-12. During this time, I did most of my work with kids in high school special ed.

Since becoming fully licensed I have decided to focus my practice working with parents and children. I want to focus on working with children who are struggling with coping with social or emotional situations. My unique, arts-based, approach can offer new tools to navigate these challenges.

I have done a lot of work with parents who feel overwhelmed, want to find new ways to get organized and need help navigating their relationship with their child or spouse. Expressive arts therapy has been shown to enhance parenting skills, strengthen relationships, and help parents focus on the self-care that they need.

I am committed to providing a safe and supportive space for people to explore their inner lives and make meaningful changes.

Expressive Arts therapy is an incredible tool that I love sharing with lots of different communities!

If you are interested in learning more about my therapy services, please feel free to check out my website www.TherapyIsMagic.org.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Before I became a licensed therapist I was a nanny for 20+ years. During this time I saw lots of different kinds of parenting. One of the comments I heard said the most was “you’re fine.” A kid gets hurt “you’re fine” a kid shows signs of frustration “you’re fine” a kid doesn’t get what they want and cries about it “you’re fine.” I kept hearing this and as I started to work on my Master’s in mental health I started to really think about what is being communicated when you tell a kid “you’re fine.” Telling a child they’re “fine” when they are expressing distress is denying their experience, invalidating their feelings and ignoring that they are sharing their feelings openly and in some cases vulnerably with you. If you repeat this response too often, kids may stop expressing their feelings. As I thought about it more I realized I fell into that same trap, and I realized I would tell kids they were “fine” often. In an effort to make valuable changes as I embarked on motherhood I started to think about what I could say instead to a child who is sharing their distress. I started to try saying things like “I hear you” or “I’m sorry you are frustrated” or “I love you.” As I started to try this out with kids I babysat for, I noticed a shift in our relationships. I felt good knowing they saw me as a safe space. I strive to do the same for my clients now.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Once I finally had my license as a therapist I had a “start date” when I would officially be off maternity leave and start my work as a fully licensed therapist. My goal was to have three clients by the end of my first week. The first week came and went without any clients. Then the first month came and went without any clients. I tried to work on my resume, my website, a video introducing my services. I tried to connect with schools to be a resource, to no avail. I suddenly realized how difficult it was going to be to start my private practice. About six weeks after going back to work I agreed to start working for a national therapy website, that offers affordable therapy to people. Immediately I was inundated with clients. I had 27 sessions in my first week of work! I felt more confident in my abilities every day! I was so happy to have this as an option to work full-time, while building up my private practice. I also feel that in the past several months I have grown as a therapist in so many positive ways. It wasn’t where I expected to be, but it is a good place to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TherapyIsMagic.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/magicalmagstherapy/