Meet Marie
Following a career in public health and human services in Iowa and California I became passionate about the impact mental health was having on my community. I earned my graduate degree in 2016 from the University of San Diego in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. I returned to Iowa and spent the next six years in Cedar Rapids working in various community mental health positions with children, teens, and college students.
In 2021, following the birth of my wonderful pandemic baby, I made the decision to leave community mental health and focus primarily on working with adults and honing my niches of working with the LGBTQIA population and EMDR. I also dove into the world of IFS taking Level one and Level two trainings.
I am now devoting my time to my private practice where I get to bring Internal Family Systems work to central Iowa through in person and telehealth appointments.
When I am not working, I enjoy traveling, reading fiction (thrillers and fantasy), and spending time with my young daughter and partner Eric.
About my approach
I primarily utilize Internal Family Systems approach to therapy. This modal allows me to emphasize curiosity, connection, and compassion in our sessions. Through IFS my goal is to help establish a healthy and balanced relationship between our different parts and the core Self. I also utilize the relational modal of IFS called Intimacy from the Inside Out with couples.
Here is a simple video explaining IFS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DFIfSHL11w
When trauma brings you to therapy EMDR may also be helpful in the unburdening process. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation to help clients reroute the neural networks trauma has created. Bilateral stimulation in my office is done by clients wearing headphones or holding “buzzies” that create back and fourth eye movement.