Maria Denardo - Trauma Psychotherapist

Lakewood, California, US
90713

Available By

  • Phone Icon Phone
  • Video Icon Video

Practice Specialties

  • Abandonment Difficulties
  • Abuse and Trauma
  • Anger Management
  • Chronic or Terminal Illness Counseling
  • Church Conflict
  • College Student Counseling
  • Counseling for Pastors and Wives
  • Counseling for Seniors
  • Divorce and Remarriage
  • Divorce Counseling
  • Divorce Recovery
  • Empty Nest Anxiety and Depression
  • Ex-Relationship Adjustments
  • Grief and Bereavement Counseling
  • Individual Counseling
  • Senior Counseling
  • Spiritual Counseling
  • Stress and Anxiety
  • Teen Christian Counseling
  • Teen Counseling
  • Trauma and or PTSD
  • Women's Issues and Concerns

About

From the outside, you may be the woman who can handle almost anything. You notice what needs to be done, show up when it matters, and rarely let anyone down. But taking care of everything can leave surprisingly little room for you. Maybe you say yes when you want to say no, avoid conflict until resentment takes its place, or feel guilty when someone is disappointed in you. You may work impossibly hard to get things right and still measure yourself by what you accomplish or what others think of you. After a while, people's expectations can feel indistinguishable from your own. You can become so practiced at being who you needed to be that you lose track of who you actually are.

This is where my work begins. As a Christian trauma psychotherapist, I work with women and girls carrying what often can't be seen from the outside: trauma and sexual assault, childhood abuse that shows up in your closest relationships, grief, infertility and reproductive loss that's left you feeling isolated, anxiety that won't switch off, or depression that's hidden behind performance.

My therapy style is warm, down to earth, and gently direct. My work weaves together Christian wisdom and extensive trauma training, drawing on evidence-based approaches that attend to the mind, body, and nervous system. Our work will be both reflective and practical, helping you understand what shaped you while creating more room to respond rather than react, and to connect rather than protect.

Your faith is not separate from your healing, even in seasons when God's presence feels like silence. You may believe deeply in the goodness of God and still wonder where God was in your darkest hour. You may carry hurt that came from the church itself, from people you trusted to show you who God is. You may extend grace to everyone around you and still have none left over for yourself. You don't have to perform Christianity here. There is room for the questions that suffering can raise about God without reaching too quickly for an answer. Together, we can be honest about what you actually experience without treating questions as a failure of faith or every struggle as something to diagnose.

If that sounds like the kind of help you need, I'd be glad to talk and help you decide if we're a good fit. A free 15-minute consultation is an easy place to start.

Client Payment Information

  • Accepts insurance
  • Client rates are on a sliding scale

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