Maria Young, LCSW

I work with young adults who find themselves struggling with life being harder than they expected it to be. This often is accompanied by feeling lost, confused or discouraging communication patterns with loved ones. Therapy with me helps you to learn about what contributes to you feeling the way you do, helps you recognize and change ineffective patterns, and helps you move towards feeling closer to others while also honoring your own personal limits. Feeling stuck, unfulfilled or lost in life often pops up during transitions in life (moving, graduating, a change in relationship, loss, etc.) Therapy helps you to slow down, learn to tend to yourself, and offers a non-judgmental space to explore & express these feelings, concerns and confusion. I help people who are ready to feel un-stuck and want to feel more fulfilled & content in their lives. I am up front and "real," while highly nurturing and caring; I believe in the transformative effects of the therapeutic relationship.

Hi, I'm Maria.

Growing up, I felt like I had nothing to offer....and I had A LOT of feelings. The ones that aren't pleasant like constant irritation, unsoothable sadness. Those kinds. On top of that, expressing my feelings, assertiveness and setting limits with others were not natural skills I had. Over time I learned to cope with feelings of deficiency, anger and loneliness by doing more. More sports, more hobbies, more exercise, more work, more "yes". What happened? I got burnt out, and lonely and afraid again. I felt that life was harder than I thought it would be. My formula of "stay moving" stopped working. This belief that "more" meant success had me trapped. Really the definition of "more" came to mean less rest.

It's a continual and intentional practice to remember that success does not always mean moving forward and doing. There is an art to balancing doing and being. Ever since I was young, I knew I wanted to get into a career path that would make a difference in people’s lives. This is how I decided to help people. I want to help clients understand what matters to them and how to live these values intentionally. I want you to be able to come home and not sink into the couch but rather hang out with friends or move your precious body. I hope to help others to start tending to themselves, find their voice, their purpose and learn to be in the here and now a little more often.

I have lived in Northern Nevada for the majority of my life. I graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with my MSW in 2014. I have experience working with adolescent clients in residential treatment, for the school district for several years and providing case management for the aging and elderly. I am a current LCSW and faculty member at UNR Counseling Services where I serve late adolescent to adult clients for a variety of concerns. I have been licensed as a Clinical Social Worker since 2017.

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