Meg Finlay
Marriage and Family Trainee
San Francisco & Santa Cruz
I believe that each of us have a natural drive to expand and grow. Therapy can be an enormously valuable support to help encourage that expansion, as well as working with the things that might trip us up on the path to the self we want to be. I work in a warm and spontaneous relational style, calling on my background in theatre, dance and meditation as well as attachment theory, Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) and systems theory. I work with clients to continue in their life journey of deepening understanding and acceptance of themselves, working collaboratively to find the right ways for me to support, witness and celebrate them as they navigate transitions and change.
In addition to working with individuals I have a deep love for working with people in relationship, romantic or otherwise, and groups. I see relationships as the threads that connect us, both internally and externally and view strengthening these threads as a pivotal element of healing. I am an improviser, and a white, queer, cis gendered polyamorous woman, as well as a sex and sexuality geek and bring these identities and interests into my work with clients, both individually and in groups.
Request an Appointment
To Request an Appointment at Shine a Light or NPCC, please fill out this form. We respond to inquiries Monday through Friday. All inquiries we receive on the weekends or holidays will be processed the next business day. Thank you for your patience. If you need immediate services, please call 911.
New Office in San Francisco!
Shine a Light Counseling Center is please to merge with New Perspectives Center for Counseling. NPCC has been serving the San Francisco community for thirty years. Now NPCC is transitioning to become the San Francisco site for Shine a Light. NPCC will retain its name, character and history. For information about NPCC or counseling in San Francisco:
New Perspectives Center for Counseling (link)
Emergency Contact
Shine a Light does not provide crisis services. If you have a mental health emergency, call 988 or 911. Or click here for more Crisis Resources
Telephone Contact
You can call Shine a Light at 831-996-1222, but we encourage you to use the email forms to the left. If you call, please leave the following:
- Phone number
- Preferred location
- Best times to meet
- Issue you want help with
- What insurance you have (if any)
FAX us at: 831-417-0443
Good Faith Estimate
You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your therapy sessions will cost. Your fee will be set according to a sliding scale, in collaboration with your therapist, prior to your first counseling session. Total costs depend upon the number of sessions you choose to utilize.
If you have private health insurance and we are not in-network with your plan, please be aware that your costs for therapy may be less by using an in-network provider. This will depend upon your plan's deductible amounts and co-payments. In some cases, counseling at Shine a Light is less costly than using private insurance.
If you hope to use "out of network" benefits through your private insurance, please be aware that many plans will not reimburse for services provided by trainees. Please request an Associate level therapists for out-of-network billing.
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