Dr. Panicha McGuire

08/26/2025

August 26 is Women’s Equality Day but the 19th Amendment didn’t mean equality for all women.

Our rights were never gifted. They were fought for and many women of color led that fight.

Today, voter suppression, economic inequality, and political underrepresentation remind us that the struggle is not over.

We are not just fighting towards progress but we are also fighting to defend what has already been won.

Our future depends on radical solidarity.

08/22/2025

I'm so excited to welcome Maggie Chen, ASW to the Living Lotus Therapy team!

Maggie brings a wealth of experience and a deep passion for supporting children, young adults, and families, especially those who are q***r, neurodivergent, and/or Asian American. With a dual Master’s in Social Work and Public Health from Washington University in St. Louis, plus undergraduate degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Psychology from UC Berkeley, Maggie’s journey reflects a powerful blend of advocacy, passion, and skill.

Originally starting her career as an environmental engineer serving marginalized communities, Maggie quickly realized the part of her work she loved most: connecting with people. Now, as an Associate Clinical Social Worker working toward her Play Therapy Certification, Maggie focuses on creating affirming, accepting spaces where both kids and adults can be truly seen and heard.

As a q***r Taiwanese American, Maggie also brings her own lived experience with an intersectional lens to therapy. She dreams of helping clients discover their intrinsic worth and to live authentically.

Outside the therapy room, Maggie loves camping, exploring San Diego, cooking, tending to her thriving collection of plants and aquarium creatures, and enjoying the local theater scene!

I am beyond thrilled to add Maggie to our team...not only for the incredible clinical work she’ll do but also because she embodies our vision for Living Lotus Therapy: a place where healing, advocacy, and community care come together.

Please join us in welcoming Maggie to Living Lotus Therapy!

Associate Clinical Social Worker ( #133198) Supervised by Dr. Panicha McGuire, LMFT, RPT™ (111378) She/Her/Hers Hi, my name is Maggie Chen and I’m excited to be a part of Living Lotus Therapy! I have a dual Master of Social Work and Public Health from Washington University in St. Louis. I also ho...

08/17/2025

"Professionals and caregivers might overlook giving a diagnosis of OCD when Autistic features are prominent and an autism label is long-standing. Conversely, they may mistakenly attribute behavioral indicators of autism to an existing diagnosis of OCD. The reality of misdiagnosis, as well as underdiagnosis of each condition often results in delayed access to appropriate care." Read more. (IG: link in bio) https://aane.org/autism-info-faqs/library/understanding-the-intersection-of-autism-and-ocd/

08/01/2025

Thinking about getting an ADHD or autism evaluation, but feeling overwhelmed by the options?

There are so many types of psychological assessments out there:
Psychoeducational. Neuropsychological. Modified. Just to name a few. And they all serve different purposes.

If you’ve ever wondered:
➡️ What’s the difference between school testing and private evals?
➡️ Does my child need a private neuropsych vs psycheducational eval?
➡️ Is there an affirming option that actually fits me (or my teen)?
➡️ Can I just explore neurodivergent traits without spending thousands?

I wrote a blog post that breaks it all down.

Whether you're navigating services for your child, exploring your own neurodivergent identity, or just want support without jumping through medical hoops, this guide will help you understand your options.

If you’ve ever felt dismissed or overwhelmed by the evaluation process, this post is especially for you.

👉🏽 Read the full blog post here.

Learn the differences between psychoeducational, psychological, neuropsychological, modified, specialized evaluations for ADHD, autism, and more.

07/23/2025

✨ Just released: Breaking the Cycle: A Healing Workbook for Parents with Childhood Trauma

As a therapist, I’ve sat with so many people navigating pregnancy and parenting while carrying the weight of what they didn’t get as children. I created this workbook for them and for anyone choosing to parent with intention, even while healing.

This 40+ page trauma-informed, neurodivergent-affirming workbook offers:
✅ Psychoeducation on intergenerational trauma
✅ Guided reflections and reparenting exercises
✅ Sensory-based grounding tools
✅ Support-mapping and self-care planning
✅ Space to define your family values and vision
✅ Pay-What-You-Can download to keep it accessible.

Whether you're expecting, already parenting, or supporting someone through this transition (therapists, doulas, birthworkers—I see you), this resource is here to affirm: you can break cycles without burning yourself out.

A trauma-informed, neurodivergent-friendly workbook for expecting and current parents with childhood trauma. Includes: reflection prompts, grounding tools, and psychoeducation to support healing, reparenting, and intentional parenting.

07/04/2025

The Revolutionary War is often celebrated as a fight for liberty…but liberty for whom?

The men who signed the Declaration of Independence were mostly wealthy white landowners. Many enslaved Black people while declaring that “all men are created equal.” The ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were never meant for everyone.

Indigenous nations were seen as barriers to be removed. Many sided with the British not because they supported empire, but because they recognized that settler colonialism was a more immediate threat to their survival.

After the war, the U.S. accelerated its campaign of land theft, broken treaties, and forced removal. Sovereignty was not respected, it was violently erased.

Poor white colonists were promised freedom too, but what most received was economic hardship. The wealthy kept the power. What was offered to working-class white people instead was racial privilege. This helped create an early version of whiteness as a political tool…used to divide, distract, and uphold white supremacy.

This wasn’t just an American moment.

In Haiti, formerly enslaved people launched their own revolution inspired by the same rhetoric. The U.S. refused to recognize Haitian independence for decades, afraid that it would inspire enslaved people here to rise up too.

Even veterans of the Revolutionary War were abandoned. Many returned with disabilities and trauma, but there were no support systems for them. The government celebrated their sacrifice, then left them behind.

So when we talk about independence, we have to ask: who was included in that freedom…and who wasn’t?

This isn’t about rejecting the ideals of liberty. It’s about telling the truth so we can build something better.

These authors are not “objective,” but neither were the ones who wrote your school textbooks. All history is written from a perspective. The key is not neutrality…it’s awareness.

Including multiple voices, even when they conflict, helps us hold a more honest and liberatory understanding of the past.

07/01/2025

“Healing is political.” We say it all the time, but what does that actually mean?

For me, it means I can’t sit in session and pretend policy doesn’t shape pain. It means I’ve worked with people whose lives are directly impacted by racism, poverty, war, displacement, gender-based violence, and settler colonialism. It means I’ve witnessed the emotional fallout of injustice…over and over.

This isn’t about being performative or “woke.” It’s about being honest. About doing trauma work with integrity. About recognizing that silence protects power, not people.

Not every healer will speak out. And not everyone can.
But for those of us who can’t not speak…this is why we do.

06/08/2025

Do you know how to recognize ICE or CBP agents?

Understanding who they are and what they look like can help keep our communities safer. ICE often targets people in homes, workplaces, and neighborhoods. Knowing your rights and recognizing uniforms, gear, and behavior is the first step.

📌 Save and share to keep our communities informed and prepared.

Source:

คุณรู้ไหมว่าจะสังเกตเจ้าหน้าที่ ICE หรือ CBP ได้อย่างไร?

การเข้าใจว่าเจ้าหน้าที่เหล่านี้คือใคร และหน้าตาหรือเครื่องแบบของพวกเขาเป็นอย่างไร สามารถช่วยให้ชุมชนของเราปลอดภัยมากขึ้น ICE มักมีเป้าหมายเป็นผู้คนในบ้าน ที่ทำงาน และชุมชนต่าง ๆ การรู้สิทธิของตนเองและสามารถจดจำเครื่องแบบ อุปกรณ์ และพฤติกรรมของเจ้าหน้าที่เป็นก้าวแรกที่สำคัญ

📌 บันทึกและแชร์โพสต์นี้เพื่อให้ชุมชนของเรารับรู้และเตรียมพร้อม

06/08/2025

Right now, as our communities stand strong and care for one another, I believe hope is alive in L.A.

In the face of ongoing violence, fear, and injustice, remember that we are all humans first. In solidarity, Dr. Panicha. ❤️‍🔥🌇

06/05/2025

🎉🎓To the Class of 2025: You did it.
And now, the real work begins.

Your education isn’t just a personal milestone. It’s a tool to challenge systems, uplift voices, and imagine something better than what we’ve been given.

May it free more than just you. I’m incredibly proud to have supported some of you along the way.

With hope,
Dr. Panicha 💚

05/29/2025

I’ve been reflecting on what it means to come from a country that was never colonized (at least not officially) and how that shaped me, both personally and professionally.

Thailand is often named as the only Southeast Asian nation that was never colonized. But “never colonized” doesn’t mean untouched. As I’ve deepened my work in therapy, history, and liberation, I’ve come to understand how colonialism and imperialism still left deep imprints on Thai society, culture, and identity and how those legacies show up in the therapy room today.

This blog is a reflection on that. It’s about history, yes, but also about survival, adaptation, and the many ways healing happens. Sometimes in therapy, sometimes in community, sometimes in the quiet act of remembering who we are outside of colonial expectations.

If you’ve ever felt disconnected from your heritage, unsure how history shaped your present, or curious about what decolonizing our work as helpers and healers can really look like, I invite you to read.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, stories, and reflections. Healing doesn’t happen alone.

Dr. Panicha explores Thailand's complex relationship with colonialism, emphasizing that despite never being formally colonized, it has been deeply influenced by imperialism. The legacy includes societal norms shaped by Western ideals and the resulting disconnection experienced by Thai diasporas. Hea...

05/20/2025

The Empire doesn’t reward loyalty. It uses it. Then it discards you.

Andor reminds us that dismantling oppressive systems requires people on every level.

This is how systems hold power... and how they begin to fall.

So… who are you in the rebellion?