Meet Meg Six | Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)

We had the good fortune of connecting with Meg Six and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Meg, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The most important factor behind my success is balancing caring for myself and caring for others. The two things are deeply interconnected: when I help my community, in the future or in my time of need they’ll help me, I also need to be advocating for myself in the midst of being in community. I think often people miss the step of advocating for themselves, which can lead to feeling isolated or resentful. It’s not self to ask for your needs to be met, it just means that you can keep going.

How this balance looks in practice are: being visibly neurodivergent as a therapist and not apologizing for it, referring folx out if my caseload is full (and checking in with my network when I have openings), being available to help peers with consultations, and reaching out to my peers when I need to talk through a case. There’s a lot of beauty in building up interconnection at a time when we tend to be very physically and emotionally disconnected from our communities.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Sixtus Therapy is very much about creating safety for Queer, Neurodivergent folks who are changing the systems the live and work within in. One of the key pieces of my practice is being open about my AuDHD and demonstrating to others that it’s ok to unmask. Therapy is so much easier and more effective when you’re not trying to present in a Neurotypical way (for both the client and the therapist).

I’ve found that as a therapist, leaning into my niche has been the best thing for my business. I’m not trying to do it all, I can respect the pace that I need to work at, and my Clients get to see someone like them having a career that doesn’t cause burnout.
I want to emphasize that even being able to work at this pace is a privilege, just as it was a privilege to be able to afford to switch careers and head back to school to pursue my masters. This privilege is why I dedicate some of my time to helping peers who are just getting into the field, or who are wanting to start their own practice.
The system we live and work within is unbalanced, but we can find ways to try and make it more equitable.

Getting to this point in my practice was inevitable I think, but not necessarily easy. My nervous system demanded that I change my pace and stop masking, and I had the realization that my own care was integral to me being able to provide care to others.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is easy – there would definitely be a trip to Saugatuck in the cards. That town is such a gem, and I’ve always loved the restaurant the Southerner. A visit to the beach would be important, Lake Michigan is always stunning, even on a stormy or grey day.

Back in Grand Rapids, I’d have to say: Breakfast at Basalt and Good Judy’s, Lunch at KCM (their matcha soft serve is a dream), the downtown market, and Uncle Cheetah’s Soup Shop, and dinner would be something from the butcher, Louise Earl, or Stella’s Burgers.

I’ve always loved old houses, so walking around Heritage Hill is a favorite past time and I’m a giant book nerd, so stopping by the library and Books and Mortar would be necessary. There are too many good antique stores, most of the week would be easily lost wandering down aisles hunting for treasures. One of my favorite things about Grand Rapids is how many small businesses there are, and its proximity to nature.

If my best friend was visiting we’d also head out on a bike ride around millennium park and take my dogs (Elton John and Amos) to the Ravines dog park where they can be off leash for a hike.

Finally people to visit: Renn Story Pruitt from Red Maple Craniosacral Therapy, yoga with Alexia of @speaklovetoher, Dean from Good Judys, Megan at the Counting House, open water swimming with Art and friends at Lake Versluis, seeing the talent of my amazing friends Gina Kukulski Syzmanski and Nick Syzmanski, getting to see all of my fellow therapist friends and colleagues, Kae Videtich, Chelsea O’day, Heather Nitzki, Kat Knox, Shannon Wendling, Natalie Fischer, Hannah Sullivan, Lee Byers, Dr. Jessi Manning, and Char Houben. Phew – it would be a busy week, there are some pretty cool people around!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have two shoutouts: the first is my Dad. My Dad ingrained in my siblings and I that we should demonstrated respect and care for everyone we work with. While this might sound obvious, not all families teach this, and certainly not all demonstrate it. I was lucky to have a front row seat to see this type of respect in action.

My second shoutout is to Ash Tobin, they are a dear friend and were my first boss as a therapist. It is pretty amazing to be in a space where you have free range to be yourself. Thanks, Ash for giving me a solid platform to begin my career, and for. continuing to support me!

Website: https://www.sixtustherapy.com/

Instagram: @sixtustherapy

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganesix