CLINICAL INTERESTS
Anxiety
Depression
Grief and Loss
ADHD
Spirituality
Religious exploration and religious trauma
Self-identity exploration
Femininity
Theater in Therapy
Therapeutic Arts
Perinatal topics
New parenthood
Teens and caregivers
Maria (She/He/They)
Maria believes in the power of stories and art. So much, in fact, that she added a Theater Arts minor to her undergraduate studies of Human Development and Family Sciences to learn both how to be a good storyteller as an actor and director and why the arts and storytelling are so critical to human flourishing. Drawing on classical literature and schools of movement theater, Maria aims to merge her favorite areas of study with her therapy practice and invite her clients to retell, reopen, reanalyze, and maybe even rewrite their own stories.
Perhaps even more importantly, Maria believes in people. She believes in their inherent dignity and their inherent capability and capacity for growth and change. She believes that in relationships and authentic encounters, be they large or small, people (including herself) are changed and transformed and given an opportunity to be made new and see the world anew. Guided by values of authenticity, gratitude, curiosity, and a little whimsy and creativity, Maria strives to make people feel seen, safe, and utterly amazed at their own uniqueness, beauty, and capacity in a healing if sometimes challenging environment.
When the time comes for her clients to terminate sessions, after walking with and challenging them when necessary, Maria will send them forward with encouragement and faith in their abilities, made stronger and wiser in the journey they undertook in therapy and will continue long after they leave her office. She believes that the struggles and rewards of therapy will continually echo across our lifetime in ways that we might never be conscious of or possibly even understand, and they are worth chasing.
“It is your own fault,” said the little prince. “I wished you no harm but you wanted me to tame you.”
“Yes, indeed,” said the fox.
“But you are going to cry!” said the little prince.
“That is so,” said the fox.
“Then it has not helped you in any way!”
“It has helped me,” said the fox, “because of the color of the wheat fields.”
- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
To schedule an appointment with Maria, please call the Olson MFT Clinic at (319) 368-6493, or note in the appointment form that you would like to see Maria. To access the form, please click the button below: