Maureen @ The Mend Collective

Therapy found me in the 8th grade when I joined a “peer“ counseling group along with 5 other girls. I noticed that something extraordinary happens when people get together and talk about the things that move them, that scare them.  I realized the importance of having a caring counselor to offer support and guidance.  Little did I know that it was the first chapter in what was to become a very long book.  A book with smudges, eraser marks, torn and even missing pages, yet a story filled with the deep satisfaction of helping people uncover their own unique golden selves. Like any mining endeavor, we have to each roll up our sleeves, dig deep, get dirty and persist. We may also laugh ~ sometimes uproariously; cry -sometimes loud sobbing wails; and grieve - sometimes keening laments.  Along the way, we learn new ways of being, of connecting and perceiving, and we practice those skills.

I obtained my undergraduate degree in Dramatic Arts from the University of North Carolina at Asheville. I played around in Community Theatre, traveled, and waited tables (my true first counseling job) before earning my Master’s Degree in Social Service from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. I am licensed as a clinical social worker, clinical addiction specialist, and certified clinical supervisor in addictions. I have received additional training in Hakomi therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Recovery (EMDR). I’ve been in the psychotherapy field for over 30 years as a therapist, educator and senior clinical manager working in community mental healthcare, schools and private practice. I also have the great privilege of being a Director Emeritus and Co-Founder of Evergreen Community Charter School in Asheville, NC.

I enjoy working with women, men, and couples who are ready to roll up their sleeves and do the work they need to do to uncover the gold in themselves and in their relationships. And, yes, there is always gold. Really, always.

I use an attachment based, trauma focused lens with my work and am particularly interested in how non-ordinary states can serve as catalysts for profound psychological growth.

I have had an intermittent meditation/mindfulness practice for over 30 years. I keep practicing. 

I also find joy in walking in the mountains (almost daily) with my dog, traveling as much and as far as I can, theatre, cooking yummy food and reading novels. 

I enjoy people, participating in their growth, celebrating their successes and providing a container for exploring all the feelings and experiences of being human.          

Perhaps we would enjoy working together?