The biggest obstacle I had to overcome was leaving a long-term relationship that was no longer for me. The results of that decision taught me everything I am today. I was faced with a difficult choice: either keep investing in something that was no longer for me, or end a relationship for an opportunity to change the direction for the rest of my life. No one around me understood my decision. However, after going through my own therapy process, I listened to my own inner wisdom, and I made the choice I believed was best for me.

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I ended the relationship, moved out of my cozy apartment, took a break from my role as a therapist, and travelled all across the country to California, the “other sunshine state”. I accepted an internship at a 214-acre farm of beautiful countryside in Moorpark, California, just 40 miles north of Los Angeles. I knew absolutely nothing about farming or gardening, but I felt called to do the internship there. I knew I needed time to disconnect from being the "helper" so that I could focus on my own healing. I went with my gut, but little did I know that learning how to regeneratively grow fruits and vegetables and how to raise pigs, chickens, cows, and ducks would teach me so much about myself -- and, make me a better therapist for my clients in the future.

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I learned that one of the most important elements in producing good food is the soil from which it grows. A well-nourished soil produces well-nourishing produce. A true life metaphor. I realized that the soil from which people grow is our environments -- the people, messages, and our own perspectives -- we nourish every day. While I was learning about the components of what makes soil healthy, I was simultaneously rediscovering myself and how I could integrate what I learned at the farm into the work I do with clients. If I do not nourish myself, how could I be nourishing for my clients? How could I help my clients create their own nourishing “soil” if my own soil was malnourished?

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As a result of going through my own therapy process, traveling, spending time in nature, and surrounding myself with incredible role models, I learned that even positive life changes can feel terrifying...at first. BUT, amidst choosing encouraging relationships and strengthening the affirmations I give to myself, I much prefer the struggle of growing through the dirt into a beautiful, aromatic flower … over staying safe and hidden as a lonely seed buried underground.

Mary’s goal is to guide clients to discover and integrate the hidden parts of themselves so they can experience immeasurable results in their relationships -- with themselves and with others.

Mary helps...