Meet Your Therapist:

The Authentic Cycle Breaker

Person with red hair and glasses smiling at the camera, wearing a fluffy sweater.

Hi, I’m Maria.

I know what it’s like to look like you’re thriving while quietly falling apart. To be the one who holds everything together for your family & your job, while no one sees how much it costs you. If you grew up needing to earn love by being perfect, if you learned early that your safety depended on keeping others happy, and if you’re exhausted from performing a version of yourself that isn’t quite real... you're in the right place.

I work with high-achieving women who’ve survived childhood emotional neglect, narcissistic abuse, betrayal trauma, and toxic relationships. Many of my clients have complex trauma, C-PTSD, anxiety, and depression, and yet most people would describe them as “strong,” “put-together,” or “the friend everyone leans on”. They’re not used to asking for help. They’re used to surviving.

There’s often a force inside them that keeps them moving forward—even when they’re crawling on all fours. No matter the stakes, the pain, or how many times they’ve fallen, they get back up. That kind of resilience is powerful. But it shouldn’t have to be the only way they know how to live.

In our work, you don’t have to perform. You don’t have to make it make sense. And you don’t have to protect me from your pain. I’m here for the parts of you that never got to be fully seen. The ones still waiting to exhale.

See if you like my vibe

Why I Do This Work

This work matters because trauma often hides behind high performance. The women I work with are intelligent, capable, and deeply self-aware, but their pain has been minimized or ignored for so long, they’ve learned to minimize it too.

They’ve been told they’re “fine” because they’re functioning. They’ve survived by staying busy, staying sharp, and staying quiet about what really happened. But surviving isn’t the same as healing—and deep down, they know that white-knuckling their way through life can’t be the whole story.

I became a therapist because I believe that healing should happen in a space that feels safe enough to fall apart. Where you don’t have to be the strong one. Where nothing about you is too much. You don’t need to be fixed because you were never broken. You adapted to impossible things. Now it’s time to heal, slowly and safely, in a space where all parts of you are welcome.

I bring a trauma-informed, relational, and somatic approach to therapy, so your body, not just your mind, gets to feel the relief of finally being safe. I’ve seen what happens when trauma is never spoken, named, or healed. I’ve also seen how deeply life can change when it is. You don’t need to justify your pain. You don’t need to explain it away. You get to show up exactly as you are—and be met with compassion, clarity, and care.

  • Practicing for over 16 years

  • Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology, Waynesburg University

  • Master’s Degree in Education, University of Pittsburgh

  • Licensed Professional Counselor in PA

  • Telehealth Therapist in Florida

  • Membership with EMDRIA

  • EMDR Certified

  • EMDR Consultant in Training

  • Psychology Today Profile

Credentials

Speciality Approaches

  • Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS)

  • Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR)

  • Somatic Approaches

  • Walk & Talk Therapy

Meet the Office Manager

I love to share about my dog, Bella. She has a tail that doesn’t stop wagging and is one of the happiest dogs I have ever had the honor of knowing. She embodies joy and owns it. She has taught me so much about resiliency, boundaries, and that it’s ok to be wildly authentic. She likes to show her face in sessions sometimes. We have adventures and misadventures, always ready to take a chance on something new to see where it takes us. Sometimes, dogs really have an incredible way of showing us how to live in the present.