
Margaret A. O'Hara PhD, Psychotherapist
Margaret A. O'Hara PhD, Psychotherapist
LPCC, LMHC, NCC, CET II, BC-TMH, CASAC, ICADC, PPS



As a bi-coastal clinician and Board-Certified Tele-mental Health Provider licensed in California (LPCC) and New York (LMHC), Margaret O'Hara sees clients through a HIPAA-compliant video-conference platform. She was elected and served as Board Director, President and Ethics Committee Chair of the California Association of Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (CALPCC) and remains active on the Ethics Committee. Through the licensing board, the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, Margaret is designated an Expert Consultant and Subject Matter Expert. She is also a National Certified Counselor (NCC).
Margaret had a private practice while in Westhampton Beach, New York. She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC). She is also a New York State Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor (Master Counselor), successfully re-credentialing since 1991. Specialty areas include addictions and eating disorders, gained from her seven years experience counseling on an eating disorder unit. Margaret served as the Evening Clinical Supervisor at Seafield Center, an in-patient substance abuse treatment center. She studied Spanish abroad in Costa Rica before her move to California. She is also a NYS OASAS-approved DWI Screening and Assessment Provider, an Education and Training Provider, and an Internationally Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor. She completed hospice and bereavement training and volunteered eight years at a camp for children who are grieving. This further enabled Margaret to provide help to those seeking assistance with grief and bereavement issues.
Margaret is certified in school counseling in California and New York, where she worked for thirteen years in schools. She has experience in primary and secondary education, working on school-related issues with youth from kindergarten to college age and beyond. In addition to her expertise with the college search/application process, Margaret helped with college transition in her role as college instructor teaching psychology, freshman seminar and personal growth and college life courses at Suffolk Community College. She is also a counselor educator. She taught Career Development at Long Island University for graduate students in the school/mental health counseling programs. Margaret is currently employed at three universities, designing and/or teaching graduate and undergraduate counseling-related courses. The universities are New York University (NYU), University of California San Diego (UCSD) Extension, and Oregon State University (OSU).
Recognized as "2006 COUNSELOR OF THE YEAR" by East End Counselors' Association, she was invited to serve as President-Elect the following year. She successfully served as EECA President in 2007/2008. Margaret remained on the executive board as Mental Health Liaison. On the state level, Margaret was the Division President of the Association of Specialists in Group Work of the New York Counseling Association in 1995/96.
Margaret is happily married to Steve for 36 years and their children reside in CA.
Charlie, 32 graduated from the College of Creative Studies at University of California Santa Barbara and is employed as a Big Data Engineer. Dan, 35 is a successful entrepreneur, building surfboards in San Diego, CA. Check out his company at www.solidsurfco.com.