A Therapist for Women

Welcome. I’m so glad you’re here.

My name is Marisa, and I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor and Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner based in New Orleans. I specialize in working with women navigating the long-term effects of early emotional wounds, the kind that shape how we related to ourselves and others. This often shows up in later as people-pleasing, anxiety in relationships, difficultly with boundaries or feeling like your needs don’t matter. You might feel stuck, emotionally disconnected or unsure how to access your voice or your sense of belonging.

Through body-based therapy, we gently explore what’s been stored in your nervous system to create more capacity for connection and self-trust.

My Approach

My work is rooted in the belief that healing doesn’t come from talking alone. Healing comes from being seen and supported in a way your system may not have experienced when it most needed it. I bring a warm, grounded presence to each session and I’m not afraid to lovingly challenge you when needed.

Together, we’ll pay close attention to your experiences and your system. This is slow, relational work. It’s about reconnecting with the parts of you that had to go quiet and creating space for your full, authentic self to emerge.

Why This Work Matters to Me

This work is deeply personal to me. I come to it not only through years of training, but through lived experiences of early loss, grief and attachment rupture, all of which have shaped my capacity to sit with others in the messy, beautiful process of healing.

And I also know the power of coming home to yourself and building a life rooted in self-awareness, nervous system regulation and self-trust. I’ve done the work to reclaim my voice, honor my boundaries and live in alignment with who I really am and I hold that possibility for you, too.

My clients often describe me as attuned, direct and deeply intuitive. I value honesty, boundaries, slowness and the sacredness of the therapeutic relationship. I believe healing is possible not because we ignore or deny the past but because we learn to hold it differently.

Credentials & Advanced Trainings

• Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) — State of Louisiana

• Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP)

• Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling – University of New Orleans

• Somatic Resilience & Regulation – Yearlong advanced training with Kathy Kain & Stephen Terrell

• Three-year certification in Somatic Experiencing® – SEI

• Touch Skills Training for Therapists – Yearlong advanced training with Kathy Kain

• Somatic Narrative & the Viscera (4-day intensive) – Advanced training with Kathy Kain

• Transforming the Experience-Based Brain (TEB), Transforming Touch® – Yearlong advanced training with Stephen Terrell

• Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) – Integrated nervous system support

• Extensive experience working in addiction and recovery settings

If You’re Here …

You don’t have to carry it all alone. Whatever you’re struggling with, there’s space for all of it and all of you here.

If you’re ready to explore therapy that includes all parts of you, I’d be honored to walk with you.