In-person Therapy in Santa Monica, CA
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Online Therapy in CA NY and TX

Psychotherapy for individuals, young adults & groups

Is your past getting in the way of your present?

Do you…

• experience anxiety/depression at times when everything on the outside seems fine?

• struggle with intimate relationships?

• feel that there’s something wrong or bad about you?

• find yourself repeating the same self-destructive behaviors?

• come from a family where there was substance abuse and/or mental illness?

• feel triggered by noise?

• have trouble enjoying life?

• find your mind disconnecting from what is happening in the moment?

You may be experiencing symptoms of acute stress or trauma. Children who grow up in stressful environments sometimes develop survival mechanisms that no longer serve them as adults. You can learn more about how stress and trauma lodge in the body by reading this interview with Dutch psychiatrist, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk.

I’m Maria Gray,
a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Santa Monica (LMFT #85366)

My areas of specialty include:

• Addictions

• Trauma

• Anxiety/Depression

• Grief and loss

• Divorce

• Relationship issues

• Adult Children of Alcoholics and/or Mentally Ill Parents

• Financial Well-Being

What are the outcomes
when Somatic Therapy and Talk Therapy are combined?

As we work together you will learn to:

• Develop more satisfying relationships

• Uncover old ideas about the past so you can live differently today

• Feel your feelings without becoming overwhelmed by them

• Regulate your nervous system

Our work is collaborative and tailored to your specific needs.

Group Therapy vs Individual Therapy

Some clients come in to my Santa Monica office once a week for individual therapy; others prefer group therapy or a combination of both. Some clients prefer online therapy, attending from the comfort of home.

We will work together to identify an approach that suits you.

I offer online and in-person counseling to clients who reside in CA.

I’m also licensed in New York and I offer virtual therapy sessions for bicoastal clients.

A little bit more about mY work as a therapist:

My longstanding meditation and yoga practice informs my work.

I applied my counseling skills in the business world during a long, successful career in Human Resources Information Systems. During a break from a busy corporate job, I became inspired while attending a yoga retreat in Costa Rica. After returning from the trip revitalized and invigorated, I returned to graduate school and started my private practice.

I’m certified in both Brainspotting and EMDR. I’m an approved Brainspotting Consultant, and Assistant Brainspotting Trainer. I also completed a 2 year training and certification in the NeroAffective Relational Model (NARM), a clinical approach that combines a focus on the nervous system with an exploration and curiosity regarding clients’ thoughts and emotions. I’m in my second year of Somatic Experiencing training, a three-year program developed by Dr. Peter Levine.

These three therapeutic models are resource and wellness-oriented, as well as non-pathologizing.  The emphasis is on helping clients re-establish connection to their bodies and to the parts of self that are organized, coherent and functional. Early trauma often occurs in one’s family of origin (a client’s first small group) and the best way to heal that pain is by participating in a newer, healthier group. Many of my clients transition from individual therapy to group therapy, and this experience can be so powerful that members start behaving differently outside of the group.

Education:

Learn how individual psychotherapy and group therapy can help you: