01 · Who Maria works with

Maria works with stress, Anxiety, trauma and abuse and self esteem

Maria lists 14 specialisms and 30 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Maria chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Maria's own words

What Maria says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Colorado, I am prepared to guide and direct you on your path to wholeness and well-being in your quest to live to your fullest potential. My expertise comes from an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a Masters Degree in Social Work as well as from my life experiences in transcending my own childhood trauma, and the many clients over the last 22 years who have taught me much about the regeneration of the human spirit. I have spent decades in self-exploration and immersing myself in the work of many Masters. I have worked with clients with such problems as depression, anxiety, coping with life changes, lack of self-esteem and self-confidence, grief, communication problems, relationship problems and addictions.

As a therapist specializing in Childhood Trauma, my goal is to inspire you to awaken to the possibilities for growth in your own experience and to help you identify and develop the strengths that will carry you forward from “surviving to thriving – from victim consciousness to living a more victorious life." My passion is to work with individuals who want more of life – more love, more peace, more joy, more authenticity, and more meaningful relationships with themselves and their loved ones. As a result of traumas suffered – often as children – we tend to react to life in unhealthy ways. My intention is to help you find what is keeping you stuck and contributing to unhealthy choices often made from anger, depression, anxiety, unresolved grief or addictions to such things as drugs, alcohol, food, gambling, sex, and shopping.

In working with me you will be guided to awaken to possibilities for growth, identify your strengths, develop your deepest spiritually, increase coping and problem solving skills to create change, learn to live more fully in the present moment and discover the innate goodness and beauty within you.

I believe "people are not bad, just wounded." I believe it is our life purpose to explore our painful experiences and integrate them into the healthier parts of ourselves so we can shift to who we really came here to be. There is nothing to find looking outside of ourselves. Everything we need is within and it is through our wounds that we find healing.

I would be honored to accompany you on your journey.

Clinical Approaches: Existential Therapy Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Client-Centered Therapy Motivational Interviewing Narrative Therapy Radical Non-Judgment Family and/or Couples Therapy

Maria Russo, on the BetterHelp listing · read 7 Nov 2026

03 · How Maria works

The 5 approaches Maria lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Maria lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Maria's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Maria runs a session.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian

The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.

Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT

Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.

Motivational InterviewingMI

A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.

Narrative Therapy

Treats the story you tell about your life as something that can be examined and retold rather than as the plain facts. Separates the person from the problem - “the anxiety” rather than “your anxiety” - to make room for the parts the current story leaves out.

Trauma-Focused TherapyTF-CBT · trauma-informed

CBT adapted for people whose difficulty is rooted in a frightening or overwhelming event. Pacing is the point: safety and stabilisation come first, the memory itself is approached gradually and only when you are ready, and the aim is that recalling it stops hijacking the present.

Also listed

• Existential Therapy

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Maria practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Maria's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Maria at this point.

2. Naming Maria specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Maria is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Maria.

3. If the caseload is full

   You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

4. The first conversation

   A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

5. If the fit is wrong

   Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

4 questions worth asking Maria

Built from what Maria actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Maria's - Maria has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Client-Centred Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

  Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

• “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

  Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

• “With 25 years in, what has changed most in how you work?”

  Long experience is only an advantage if it has been examined. This tends to surface whether it has.

• “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

  On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LCSW

Licensed in

Colorado

Licence

CO LCSW CSW.00000833

Licence number

CSW.00000833

Licence expires

31 Aug 2027

NPI

1750589909

Years in practice

25

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Maria's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 7 Nov 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Maria. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.