Meg Van Deusen, Clinical Psychologist
Welcome to my blog. I am a clinical psychologist, in practice for more than two decades. I’m also a renewed writer who was on hiatus, well, for more than two decades. I’m back to explore a topic I’m passionate about…stress.
Passionate about Stress
It may sound strange to be passionate about stress. When people think of passion, they may think of music, politics, sports, but once I began to suffer from stress, I became vehement about trying to manage it. Granted, in the beginning I was a sleep deprived, working, new mother and, therefore, was heavily focused on how both my new baby and I could get sleep so I could be less stressed. However, most sleep scientists will tell you that the more you focus on trying to get sleep, the more stressful it can become.
Not only was I suffering from stress (and still intermittently do for different reasons), half of my clients were as well. I became increasingly fascinated with what seemed to be a growing epidemic and determined to track what did and did not work for people. While I felt capable of treating most psychological symptomatology, treating people’s chronic stress was more elusive. Stress seemed to be interwoven with peoples’ biology, lifestyle patterns, technology use, economic factors, current events and more.
The Phenomenon of Stress
This blog documents some of my experiences, observations, research of the research and speculations regarding how our current American culture aids and abets the phenomenon of stress. Many of my initial posts have to do with sleep (as sleep is both a cause and result of stress.) Subsequent posts will address politics and stress, technology and stress, climate change and stress, social media and stress, work pressure and stress, gut imbalance and stress to name a few.
My Work
My work with children, adolescents and adults in both inpatient and outpatient settings in the Los Angeles and Seattle areas has provided me with a rich understanding of people and their psyches. Also my work as a clinical psychologist heavily informs my understanding of stress. I am also humbled by the power of the unconscious, by the depth and breadth of current scientific research and all we still need to learn about this topic.
For more information on my private practice contact me here or visit my site www.megvandeusen.com