Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Maginn.
Hi Samantha, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Like many who chose the helping professions, I had a rough start in life. And like many millennials, my parents divorced when I was young. My mom and I moved to 4 different states before I was 18. I’d spend one weekend a month with my dad in St. Louis, so this part of the world always felt like home. At age 6, I was diagnosed with ADHD, which is amazing because so many girls slipped through the diagnostic criteria for ADD/ADHD in the 90s. I spent much of my childhood helping care for my little brother, who is non-verbal with Down Syndrome and autism. By the time I was 18, I was tired of feeling like a caretaker and taking many risks. I went to Columbia College Chicago, where I wanted to be a photojournalist, then a fiction writer, but instead, I became a Deadhead. In 2012, I took a break from school during my mom’s second divorce and moved home to help her with my brother. In March of 2012, while walking across a street downtown, I survived a hit-and-run that killed my best friend.
I was diagnosed with PTSD and coped with substance abuse. A good friend recommended a therapist, Fleet Rand, who helped me see that there was still light in me. He helped coax that light into a flame and eventually a fire. That fire was painting, and it was drawing, it was writing, it was music, it was dancing, it was yoga, it was meditating, it was art. I ended up finishing my undergrad in Fine Art & Literature at UMSL. I don’t think I knew it then, but those classes were so therapeutic for me. I wanted to write and illustrate fiction, and I might still, but at the time, it was therapy. Now, it’s my mission to bring the combination of therapy and creativity to others. I am a queer, neurodivergent artist, mother, survivor, and therapist.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road to becoming a therapist was bumpy. I was a military spouse for seven years before my husband retired in 2022. During that time, I had two kids, my husband deployed twice, and we moved to Oklahoma, Texas, New York, and back to St. Louis. In between all that, I started my master’s in 2018 at Palo Alto University in California, working virtually from New York. I’ve been straddling the line as a creative healer with service members for part of this journey. A benefit to my education in mental health is a better understanding of my husband’s PTSD so I can better support him, service members, and families like our own having experienced trauma; my soul is called to those who find themselves in the “dark tunnel,” as I like to think of it. I understand that space because I’ve been there too. Trauma and grief feel like darkness that never ends. I need to help others gain the tools to light their way because there is a way out. It’s not forever.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Wonder Ground Therapy is a new private practice I’ve created based on Creativity, Community, & Calm principles. I have experience working with grief & loss, postpartum, trauma, military families, ADHD and neurodivergent adults, life transitions, depression, and anxiety. My background in the arts, yoga, and meditation sets Wonder Ground Therapy apart. It’s my mission to think creatively with my clients. From doing eclectic talk therapy, cultivating community, and bringing creative or meditative interventions to therapy, my goal is to support my clients with the mindset of a creative healer. I offer virtual therapy to all Missouri residents, walk & talk therapy to St. Louis residents, and virtual art therapy groups on Monday evenings. This is just the beginning of Wonder Ground Therapy. I plan to open a space where I can do in-person sessions and run in-person art therapy groups, queer-identifying groups, and groups for first responders and service members. My overall dream is to combine forces with the many healers in my life and offer yoga, meditation, and other healing services to anyone who needs it. Wonder Ground Therapy will be a place of holistic healing for everyone.
What do you think about happiness?
I’m delighted by all things Venusian and Aquarian. I’m inspired by art, music, dancing, hiking, foraging, fiction, poetry, human connection, astrology, yoga, community ideas, and progress. I have an Aquarian soul. I’ve always jived with the ideas of the Romantics, the Beatniks, the Hippies, the Punks, the Grunge, the Queer, and the Emo kids. The underdogs, or contrarians, of each generation, have inspired me. This is why I call my practice “Wonder Ground”– it’s a play on the “Under Ground.” Subterranean idealism is full of emotional human experience, and that’s what I love about my job as a therapist. I’m in the business of processing the feelings in our lives. Deep human experiences have always evoked a feeling of inspiration, which evokes happiness and peace in me.
On a typical day outside of work, I love listening to podcasts, getting a workout in, watching a favorite show, and spending time with my family. My kids are at that messy and giggling stage, so I try my best to soak that up daily.
Just for fun and because astrology makes me happy: I’m a Leo sun, Gemini moon, Cancer rising. Gilmore Girls sun, Twin Peaks rising, Soprano’s moon. Grateful Dead sun, Tori Amos rising, Sufjan Stevens moon.
Pricing:
- Therapy sessions with me are $95 for 50 minutes.
- Open Path sessions with me are between $40-$70 a session for those who qualify.
- Virtual Art Therapy Group is donation based
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wondergroundtherapy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wondergroundtherapy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094056225300
Image Credits
Artwork, logo, and photography by Samantha Maginn
