About Marissa

In 2011, Marissa’s world flipped upside down and inside out. A immediate family member contemplated suicide and was then hospitalized for treatment. The experience was traumatic and eye opening to many of the world’s problems. Marissa was flooded with memories of childhood not being what she thought it was. At the time, Marissa was on a different career path. She was working for Corporate America in the fashion industry; miserable with life and circumstances. She was on the brink of “now-or-never” moments. Either she made changes in her life or it was leading to devastating realities of loss and another level of hardship she knew wasn’t best for her. Because life is hard enough without getting in our own way.

 

But God entered into her story. For the first time in her life she learned to trust God for direction and no longer her own might. She was able to repent to God about her own pride and habit of creating her own way instead of His best for her. She began a path of helping others work through their hardships. Although she didn’t go through the depths of what many others go through, she came to a point of compassion she had never known before. Marissa developed a passion for exploring interpersonal relationships because after all recognizing dysfunctional and unhealthy relationships had gotten her to this eye-opening point in her life. She believes that the things others say and do to us affect how we interact now and in the future. Marissa believes that words and people hurt us and a relationship with Jesus can heal those wounds. Sometimes healing comes in the form of boundaries, reconciliation, or loss in interpersonal relationships. Now she's on a persistent path for greater freedom and desires that for her clients too! When done through the lens of a Christian worldview it can give us a purpose bigger than ourselves; an eternal perspective. 

 

Marissa has an interpersonal approach to therapy that is true to who she is. She’s direct, helps you explore difficult and uncomfortable places, and cares about your soul. You matter to her and she works hard to be different from any other relationship you’ve had. It’s often the story (like Marissa’s) that life isn’t what it was thought to be. She welcomes all who sit on her couch, no matter what he or she has gone or is going through. Some of Marissa’s favorite moments in therapy are when client’s discover exceptions to the rules that they probably didn’t even know they had. Most of the time clients have assumptions about themselves, others, and the world and when exceptions happen there's an opportunity for growth and maturity. After all, isn’t that what we are all trying to do? Attempting to grow and mature into individuals who have healthy relationships with God, themselves, and others. It’s a process that we are all on. So let’s turn the process into progress, together.

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Marissa is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Christian Therapist in Arkansas with a specialization in Clinical Supervision. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Environmental Science from the University of Arkansas and a Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling from the University of Central Arkansas. She helps the "sandwich" population of adult children navigate the challenges of aging parents so that they foster resilience and enhance quality of life for both generations.

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+ Marissa will be focusing her training and further certification efforts in Geriatric Counseling