Heather McGongile, LPC, LPCMH
Clinical Director 
302-655-3953 x 600 
hmcgonigle@soarinc.com

Heather McGonigle, LPC, LPCMH joined SOAR. Inc in November 2019. Having previously served in the Greater Philadelphia Area, Heather comes with experience in working in residential, intensive out-patient, and out-patient mental health, trauma-informed care and trauma counseling, co-occurring conditions, substance use and recovery based counseling, forensic assessment and counseling, clinical supervision, and non-profit leadership and program development. Heather also serves as an adjunct faculty instructor for the masters program from which she graduated in 2016, the Community and Trauma Counseling Graduate program at Jefferson University, and as an adjunct faculty at the Graduate School of Education Counseling and Mental Health Counseling program at University of Pennsylvania. She is a licensed professional counselor in both PA and DE, with a special interest in trauma counseling, social justice/advocacy, and higher education.

 

Heather practices based on her beliefs that "Trauma is a broad, complex, and pervasive stress experience that can have varying impacts on anyone and at any time. It is often the root to many psychological conditions for which survivors adapt resilient survival mechanisms in managing. Even more often, however, it is unfortunately overlooked in how professionals are able to recognize and conceptualize these impacts on those being served. Understanding the pervasiveness and complexity of trauma will not only improve services that are offered to mitigate these experiences, but it will also create a safer societal environment wherein the risk of re-traumatization will reduce. Trauma matters to me because it is a part of the human experience and therefore should be treated as such. As having experience in non-profit leadership and education as well as working through a trauma lens, one of my passions is to provide trauma awareness and education that will serve to improve experiences of safety for survivors of trauma in many public service sectors."