About

Heather Mangan (she/her/hers) is a therapist and writer. She earned her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Roosevelt University in Chicago and is currently working towards licensure. As a clinician, Heather uses a person-centered, narrative approach and practices unconditional positive regard and empathetic understanding to create a safe therapeutic environment. She believes that people are influenced by the stories they tell themselves and others tell about them but that these stories can be revised and rewritten. She has experience working with a wide variety of presenting concerns, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, grief, post-traumatic stress disorder, and trauma.

Prior to pursing a career in therapy, she received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from South Dakota State University and is an award-winning journalist. She also worked in worked in non-profit marketing and communications and has experience with writing, editing, pitching stories, social media, designing, photography, and video editing. It was in this work of having intimate conversations with people that led her to go back to school to become a counselor.  Her work as appeared in Elite Daily, Thought Catalog, and other publications.

Additionally, she is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer from Niger (2010-2011) and Lesotho (2011-2013). In Lesotho, Heather taught secondary English and developed a nation-wide creative writing contest. She was also part of the volunteer support network and created a mental health calendar to help volunteers through the emotional ups and downs of service. Her Peace Corps blog was named to the Top 40 Peace Corps Blog list.

Heather is an avid runner and has completed two marathons and two ultramarathons. She lives with her husband and dog.