Meet Megan

I am…

  • Open-minded
  • Supportive
  • Direct
  • Balanced

As the Founding Director of The Mindfulness Center, mindfulness is a big part of my practice with clients.  I have found this approach calming and centering for clients who feel “scattered” or “overthink” things.  I have developed a simple and straightforward approach that does wonders for adults dealing with irritability, anger, depression, anxiety, and relationship issues. It gives you tools for your toolbox so you are prepared to handle challenging situations as they arise.

Since this toolbox of tools is so popular with my clients – many of them refer to them as “Megan-isms” – I’ve begun referring to the toolbox as the Mindfulness Mindset™. Essentially, these are simple ways to see your situation from multiple perspectives and have tools to utilize when you need them to deal with all of life’s stressors.

For the last several years, I’ve been honored to be named one of the Three Best Rated Best Marriage Counselors in Louisville. My work with couples came out of my expertise in working with adults who experience anxiety and panic, are easily irritable or frustrated, or have been told they have “anger issues”.  These issues often bleed into all aspects of our lives from our relationships, parenting, work, how we view ourselves, etc. The work I do is very holistic, taking into account all areas of your life.

As a member of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, I use indirect hypnosis in sessions with clients to allow their conscious thinking to relax just enough for the subconscious to be empowered to best care for and heal the client. I see hypnosis as the subtle art of healing to help empower the client to heal her/himself. Through the words and phrases intentionally used in therapy, it helps the client become unstuck or remove blocks and barriers they are wanting to release in order to move forward in their life. Ericksonian Hypnosis can also be done more directly through deep relaxation and guided meditations that allow the conscious brain to relax and allow the client’s subconscious brain to identify what is best for the client. The therapist is just a facilitator in the client’s own healing.  To find out more about Ericksonian Hypnosis, click HERE!

I am also trained in Usui and Karuna Reiki and am a Reiki Master. Like Ericksonian Hypnosis, Reiki is another intentional healing practice that facilitates healing and empowerment for the client on an energetic level. Reiki is a widely accepted Japanese-based technique for stress reduction and relaxation promoting energy healing at a quantum level.  Reiki is used in healthcare settings such as  John Hopkins and Harvard. While Reiki is often thought of as a hands-on healing approach, I use energy healing through words and presence.  To find out more about Reiki, click HERE!

In 2022 I launched The Mindfulness Classes, a digital space designed to promote my unique mindfulness approach globally. The Mindfulness Classes were developed to offer one-of-a-kind tools that transcend the “therapy” room, making mindfulness and living an optimal life more accessible to all people. The Mindfulness Classes is designed to co-exist with The Mindfulness Center, each collaborating and amplifying the organization’s collective mission: to help you find peace and joy in your life and relationships.

In my 20+ years of experience as a mental health expert, often working with driven, high-achieving, successful entrepreneurs, athletes, and executives, I heard many clients report feelings of being stuck in a hamster wheel, of going, going, going, with no real purpose or direction. Listening and responding to these complaints, I began to develop these simple, easy-to-use, practical tools to help clients simplify, clarify, and focus their lives. Some of these tools are featured in my book, RESET: Six Powerful Exercises to Refocus Your Attention on What Works for You and Let Go of What Doesn’t. These are the exercises I use at my annual Napa Valley RESET Retreat too!

We’re all busy, and it’s easy to put self-care and self-optimization on the back burner. That’s why I and The Mindfulness Classes are excited to announce the development of two new short, straightforward, life-changing online courses, “The Art of Saying No,” and “Dealing With Difficult People.” These courses are self-paced and designed to help you see these topics from new perspectives.

I also have some cool PRESS you can check out: HERE!

Want to know more?

Let’s work together! I look forward to sharing all these skills and tools with you to help you live your most optimal life.

________________________________________________________

Megan’s Bio

Born in Santa Cruz, California, and raised in Seattle, Washington, with extended stints of time in Arizona, Texas, and now Kentucky, Megan Bayles Bartley is at once the girl next door that can handle a basketball like nobody’s business (even though she doesn’t really enjoy competitive sports) and a “sage yoda” (to use the words of a client) that walks with those she helps out of the dark and into the light.

She earned her Master of Arts in Marriage & Family Therapy (MAMFT) and Systems Theory from the Louisville Presbyterian Seminary. In 2017 she founded the Louisville Mindfulness Center, an organization dedicated to teaching people of all ages practical ways to use mindfulness and meditation to improve their lives that grew so quickly that she recently rebranded it to The Mindfulness Center to further her mission to have a global presence. 

Named one of the Best Marriage Counselors in Louisville, Megan is recognized for her work developing an out-of-the-box therapeutic approach that is both radically transformational and insanely practical. Hands-on, judgment-free and eclectic, Megan’s approach is informed by her ongoing passion for learning which involves training in Ericksonian Hypnosis and Reiki, and a healthy dose of international travel (she’s made it to 5 continents so far, with the last two on the books as we speak!).

In recent years this self-proclaimed “recovering perfectionist” and die-hard “optimist realist” has spent an increasing amount of time in a training role, sharing her therapeutic and coaching skills with other practitioners across the U.S., including those who work with her at her business, The Mindfulness Center. Megan also enjoys co-hosting a weekly podcast with colleague Rob Giltner, guest lecturing at conferences, creating practical, easy-to-use online classes to connect with a broader audience, and organizing and leading national retreats and workshops designed to help ambitious women in pursuit of personal transformation and growth.

As a painter, entrepreneur, activist, feminist, social activist, and published author, Megan continually draws on her keen intuition in all that she does, Megan explains: “…when I listen to my gut, which I’m really good at doing, it never fails me.” Future plans include expanding The Mindfulness Center to more regions across the U.S. and globally, along with additional writing, podcasts, and television appearances, with a primary goal to make her vision as widespread and accessible to others as possible.