What keeps you awake at night, or awakens you suddenly at three AM? Or you have that dreaded feeling of having to wake up and face the worry, or situation again with no resolution. It's not pleasant experiencing these feelings alone, feeling you have no one who can really understand, or partner with you to find some clarity, or answers. If this feels familiar, I hope you will consider contacting me. I'd be honored to partner with you, to see if together we can find your joy, clarity and the confidence to be all that you are meant to be.

"The journey we are on takes us in all different directions, testing us at every turn. There is help and hope. I have been honored to hear people's stories at various points of their journey; witnessing, observing, supporting, empathizing, listening and reflecting. Through hearing their stories, I have learned how fragile the human condition is, and at the same time, the empowering strengths and resiliency each one intrinsically has in adapting and surviving the difficulties put before them."

Therapy is a place for yourself or your loved one to take time to build self-care, self-reflection, insight and skills to manage the symptoms they are experiencing. Many adults and youth experience symptoms of depression, anxiety or are overcoming issues of past trauma that plays in to their ability to go about life. Sometimes relationships, school or work are harder to navigate, build or maintain. Sometimes self-esteem and self-worth can interfere with our abilities to experience healthy relationships whether that is with friends, peers or family members. Coming to therapy can help you build skills to navigate these hardships.

I provide holistic counseling for couples, adults, and families. My areas of focus include relationship issues, life transitions, gender and sexuality, conscious (positive) aging, living with mental and physical illness, trauma, grief and loss. Drawing on over 35 years in mental health and medical social work, I offer clients support and guidance dealing with the challenges and opportunities of life.

The decision to seek out therapy and to find a therapist is a courageous one, and can be a scary or daunting process. Congratulations on taking the first steps towards healing, particularly in these stressful and trying times. I believe we are created for deep and profound relationship. It is in and through these relationship where our deepest satisfaction, as well as our pain, resides. You and I will work together to make your relationships fulfilling as we journey together into the intimate places of your stories, and assess the ways that you can begin to step into the strength and beauty you have to offer.

I enjoy working with children of all ages, young adults and their families. I also work with parents and individual adults. You are the expert on your child and family life and our work together builds on the strengths and skills you already possess. Just as an accomplished athlete takes their raw talents and develops them through honing skills and practice, therapy can help you and your child further grow the skills and talents you already have and identify areas where new skills are needed.

Offering insight in a safe, accepting environment can be a game changer. In this loud and confusing time we live in it's important to explore your internal resources, acknowledge your own wisdom and develop the skills you lack. That's what we do in my practice. The goal of treatment is to empower you in every way to take control of your life and soar above the obstacles becoming who you were meant to be.

Being a person is hard work; our lives are complex and navigating the world is challenging even in the best of circumstances. What we all long for, a sense of wellness, is not just the absence of affliction, it is the presence of vitality. Each of us has the capacity for this vitality, where we live fully and whole-heartedly. Clients who find my services most helpful tend to be those who are looking for a new way of living, who seek a deeper understanding of their feelings, their relationships, and their life.

**CLINICAL SUPERVISION GROUP FOR ASSOCIATE LEVEL SOCIAL WORKERS AND THERAPISTS BEGINS 11/21/2020. LEARN MORE AT WWW.MARYALLISONBROWN.COM/GROUPSUPERVISION**

I welcome you to a safe, sacred space where you are fully accepted. We'll create a therapeutic relationship that is honoring of where and who you are, while helping you to create the life you want. Working together we'll identify your personal and unique goals for therapy to help you thrive. My training and experience is rooted in evidenced-based therapies that focus on authentic, healing relationships: CBT, intensely trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP). My training and practice in mindfulness and acceptance-based therapies serves as a foundation for our work together.

It is our mission to provide mental health counseling that is evidence-based and collaborative. No matter the challenge or problem, we will work with you to find tools, techniques and skills that work for you and your lifestyle. Together we can find a solution.

You are not alone. I welcome the chance accompany you on your quest to meet life’s challenges, and I offer my humanity as well as my skills and experience in service to that process. We are not diminished by our struggles. Perhaps just the opposite. It is through our difficulties, not in spite of them, that we come to know our own strengths and gifts. Having someone along who is familiar with the process can be invaluable. Someone unafraid to go into the darkness with you to help you find your way. This is no self-improvement project. You are already more than you know yourself to be. This is about discovery.

My approach to therapy is client centered utilizing evidence based therapies and customizing treatment to the client.

Not sure what you need, or where to turn; feeling strange reaching out for support - wondering if you are even worth helping. You’ve tried a lot of things to help yourself - mindfulness, meditation, yoga, exercise and more. You are relieved for a time, until it all comes back, sometimes worse than before. On the outside, you pride yourself on being an intelligent person, a strong individual, a committed worker, a loyal friend. Perhaps you identify as a member of the LBGTQ+ community. Yet these days you find yourself spinning inside. You can’t shake these feelings of being out of control. Sometimes your behavior really is.

I enjoy working with adults experiencing complex life changes and healing from childhood trauma. I appreciate working with creative individuals. I help clients explore ways to cope with challenging situations and relationships. I see therapy as an active and reflective process. I work with very diverse individuals and families. Clients experience me as warm, insightful and supportive, with an active approach to therapy. I provide clinical supervision to social workers pursuing licensure. I can provide co-supervision, with clinicians of color, for social workers interested in this experience.

An Empathetic philosophy anchored in caring, trust, dignity, and respect. Although it may seem difficult at times to find balance in your life, it is not impossible to find this balance. I can help you overcome obstacles that keep you from feeling fully alive - at work, play, or in your relationships with others. I do things a bit differently. Understanding not everyone is cut out for the same treatment, I see clients as people-- not merely a diagnoses or condition. I listen carefully to people and respond to them as individuals, not as just a diagnosis

I offer a unique, holistic approach to transformational healing and growth through a weaving of shamanism, psychotherapy, and coaching. I am direct, compassionate, and intuitive in working with clients, offering deep integrity, fortitude, and over 3 decades of shamanic practice supporting journeys of healing, personal mastery, and authenticity. The transformational work of embodying who you truly are and why you are here is a beautiful, challenging journey of embracing and integrating all of who you are with deep compassion and fierce love. A journey I invite you to take and am honored to support.

Many of us feel unprepared to deal with the stressors, transitions and difficulties that occur throughout our lives. I have many years of experience helping people traverse these issues and develop the tools to cope and to thrive in the face of these challenges. I will work with you to examine the underlying issues that have led you to therapy and support your efforts to make meaningful changes in your life. I offer a warm, safe and non-judgmental environment in which you can explore your thoughts and feelings, while helping you push toward a deeper understanding of the patterns driving your behaviors, choices and relationships.

With your partner: Do you feel alone in your relationship? Are you recovering from infidelity or broken trust? Do you want to communicate in a way that pulls for your partner's understanding and connection? For yourself: Do you want to resolve your internal conflicts? Do you want to learn self-compassion and feel at peace with yourself? Do you want to break negative patterns in your relationships? I'm here to help. Over the past 15 years, I've helped hundreds of couples and individuals create emotional security, happiness, and connection through evidence-based and empirically validated therapy methods.

Issues such a stress, anxiety and depression can be debilitating. You may feel exhausted, irritable, confused, hurt and angry. You may act out your feelings by isolating and distancing yourself from people who care about you. You my find that your work, relationships and friendships suffer as you are suffering. Struggling is difficult and it can feel hard to know where to turn for help and guidance. When you feel exhausted from struggling it can help to talk with someone who can offer support, and help you build a path for moving forward towards healing.