I’m Maria & I’m so glad that you are here.

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If you want to know a little more about me: I live in California with my long time partner, am in my late 40s and am a parent to 2 young adults. I enjoy a foggy morning walk and my cat, Harry, tries to say hello to my clients in sessions. I genuinely love my work and feel it is a privilege and joy to get to collaborate with clients. As a cptsd survivor myself, I come to this work with decades of experience as both a fellow traveler and as a support and collaboration professional.

Our work together: Most of my clients initially reach out because they are looking for responsive, compassionate and personalized support around abuse recovery, relational challenges, grief, chronic illness, complex trauma recovery, and/or they are feeling stuck in a specific area of their life. Many clients meet for interim support while on a weeks or months long waitlists for an EMDR or CPTSD therapist practioner their insurance covers. Many clients also work with me when traditional support approaches were not an optimal fit for them. My style is trauma responsive, non-hierarchical, deeply attuned and laser focused on and personalized to clients’ specific goals. While I have trained in many modalities and approaches, I find it is best for us to get to know each other in the relational space of sessions and then tailor sessions to your needs and goals. I tend to be a solid fit for adhd, autistic, cptsd, religious trauma survivors, CSA survivors, chronic illness clients and/or people quite understandably existentially struggling with that state of things. I offer both zoom and phone sessions. I am committed to offering financially accessible sessions to as many clients as I can. Community access rates are guaranteed through Spring 2026. We all get through together.

My professional background: I started as a hospital advocate for survivors of SA in 2010 with Tarrant County’s Women's Center and have been in the work of collaborating with abuse, assault and trauma survivors in various roles since that time. After graduate coursework in counseling theory, counseling skills as well as specialized training in trauma recovery, relational attachment, CPTSD, nervous system care supports, somatic therapy, parts work and more, I began working with clients 1:1. If you want to know more about my formal education, ongoing training and qualifications, I’ve included that information below.

I am happy to answer your questions and I look forward to connecting with you.

Warmly, Maria

Formal Education & Training Include

400+ hours training in Abuse/Sexual Violence/Domestic Violence survivor advocacy training and direct survivor support

BA University of California at Santa Cruz

Graduate School Coursework in Counseling Skills, Lifespan Development, Counseling Theory, Etc. (Palo Alto University)

Somatic Attachment Therapy Certificate - Embody Lab

Attachment Strategies for Relationships (Diane Poole Heller-Trauma Solutions)

Treating Trauma with Felt Sense Polyvagal Model (PVI Institute-Jan Winhall)

Inner-Relationship Focusing Training Levels 1-3 (Embodying Psychotherapy)

Trauma Informed Care Across the Lifespan LGBTQ+ Individuals (ACA 2022)

Resilience Informed Care: An Integrative Approach - Dr. A Schwartz

Somatic Embodiment & Regulation Strategies Certificate - (Linda Thai-Collectively Rooted)

Attachment Communication Skills: From Conflict To Connections (Trauma Solutions, Dr. Diane Poole Heller)

Embodied Joy in Trauma Recovery & Social Change (Embody Lab)

Melting the Shame Freeze: Using Somatic Techniques to Build Safety and Attunement (Center for Healing Shame)

Somatic Abolitionism-Foundations - ERE (2021)

Integrative Somatic Parts Work (Embody Lab)

Pain, Parts, Body & Identity - Dr. A Schwartz

Somatic Experiments Towards Embodied Safeness (Collectively Rooted)

Healing Hidden Roots of Shame Workshop (Trauma Solutions)

Resilience Informed Care: An Integrative Approach - Dr. A Schwartz

Trauma Recovery Coursework (IAOTRC-2022)

Healing the Mother Wound (IAOTRC)

Attachment Therapy (Embody Lab)

Reversing Self-Abandonment (IAOTRC)

DV SA Peer Counseling Support Certificate-State of California

Ongoing Education, Trainings & Practices

Focusing Oriented Therapy and Complex Trauma 1 (Seattle Focusing)

Inner Child Work / Reparenting Yourself / Somatic Parts Work

The Inner Critic Course for Inner Relationship Focusing and Somatic Experiencing (Dr .Gallagher)

Areas of Special Interest

Complex Trauma Recovery, Support for Adult Survivors of Childhood Abuse, Building Toward More Secure Attachments, Focusing Oriented Therapy, Felt-Sense PolyVagal Model, LGBTQ+ Coaching, Nervous System Care, Neurodiversity, AUDHD, Decolonizing Therapy+Psychology, Religious Abuse Recovery, Chronic Illness Supports, Inner-Child Work, Unwinding Shame Response Patterns, Collective Healing and Community Power, Culturally Responsive Coaching, Feminist Theory, Developmental Trauma Recovery.

*Your sessions will always be personalized to your unique needs and the approaches that you feel best support YOU.